The Big Green tennis machine was again in action this past weekend as they headed to Princeton, New Jersey, for the ECAC championship.
The showdown began in the first round as Dartmouth faced the Hoyas of Georgetown. With a win against the number one doubles team of co-Captain Avery Rueb '98 and Charles Drimal '00, the Hoyas might have entertained the thought of a successful showing against the Green.
But not having played the Green this year, Georgetown was ignorant of Dartmouth's depth and individual strengths. Enlightenment was not far away as the daunting pairs of Gabe Sauerhoff '99 and Erich Holzer '99 and Rob Simik '99 and Austin Hawley '99 won their matches 8-4 and 9-7 respectively.
The Big Green continued their rampage as the singles began. Co-captain Matt Fuller '97 battled it out with Hoya Chris DiCarlo, eventually wining 6-3, 3-6, 7-6. Sauerhoff and Holzer dispatched their opponents 6-1,6-0, and 6-4, 6-3.
Rueb started off slowly dropping the first set 0-6, but found his rhythm as he won the second and third 6-1, 7-6. Simik and Andrew Evans '00 followed suit with straight set victories, giving the Green the first round win, 7-0.
In the quarterfinals, Dartmouth faced its experienced Ivy foe from Pennsylvania, the Quakers. Both teams, eager to meet the powerful Harvard team in the semifinals, fought with all their might. Dartmouth faltered first when the men were swept in doubles, yielding the first point to Penn. Not intimidated by the small deficit, the Green tried to rally back.
"We all knew that our depth would carry the day," Coach Chuck Kinyon said, "but we needed a stellar performance at one through three to pull off the victory."
The top three players of Fuller, Sauerhoff and Holzer all fell in straight sets to the formidable Quakers. The four through six men kept the Big Green in the running, all winning their matches.
Rueb fought out a tough one against his opponent and won in three, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. After winning the first in a tie-breaker, Simik finished his opponent with a definitive 6-0 final set victory. And the ever consistent Evans again showed his talent as he won 6-3, 7-6.
But even with the wins, the Big Green came up short of the victory by a single point, 3-4 in matches.
"It was to tough a task to ask this early in the season as we dropped the one through three positions, but typically dominated at four through six," Kinyon said.
Motivated by the previous day's loss, Dartmouth entered the backdraw of the tourney and faced a loaded Providence College team.
In doubles, Rueb and Fuller fell in a tough match, 8-4. At the number three spot, Simik and Drimal battled their way to an 8-6 win. But the match of the day came from the never-say-die duo of Sauerhoff and Holzer. Down 7-3 in an eight game pro set and fighting off four match points, the two came storming back with six unanswered games and stole the match 9-7.
With the early lead, Dartmouth continued the streak, with its only two losses coming from Fuller and Holzer. Sauerhoff won a big match upsetting his opponent, 7-5, 7-5, while his teammates Rueb, Simik and Evans followed in straight sets.
Rueb, Simik and Evan all were undefeated this weekend. And with the wins, the Big Green machine took the match 5-2, giving them a 4-1 season record.
"I feel the tournament was a great success," Coach Kinyon said. "We had the eye opener that any young team needs [against Penn]. And a confidence builder [Providence] that was needed to keep our pride."
