The women's tennis team kicked off its spring season last week in Florida. Despite a couple of injuries, Coach Chris Kerr's squad returned to Hanover with a 2-3 record for the break and they now stand at 5-4 overall.
In the Green racketeers' first match-up of the spring , they edged out Florida Atlantic by the narrowest of margins, 5-4. Leading the attack for Dartmouth, freshman phenom Michelle Bray teamed up with junior Katie Kirkmire to win at No. 3 doubles and then smoked her opponent at No. 4 singles.
Kirkmire's singles match was huge, as the speedy baseliner was able to oust Joanne Fruelich in three tight sets, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. This happened to be the deciding match of the afternoon, as Kirkmire proved too tenacious for her opponent.
In other matches, rookies Allison Taff and Jennifer Lange emerged victorious at No. 2 doubles while Captain Kallie Buehler bulldozed her opponent at the No. 3 slot.
Despite an excellent performance in its first match of the week, Kerr's team next faced Rutgers, one of the top fifteen teams in the East. As the match began, though, Dartmouth wasted little time showing the 14th-ranked Scarlet Knights that they were not going to be intimidated.
Bray continued to play marvelously, winning her second three-setter of the week against Angelique Matuch. Buehler and Taff also won their matches. However, Rutgers proved too deep for the Big Green as they squeaked out with a 5-4 win.
Dartmouth's performance against such a perennial powerhouse proves that Kerr has done a lot to revitalize her program after a disappointing season last year.
"I feel that the trip was a good bonding experience for the team," Rebecca Dirksen '00 said. "The whole team is psyched for the season although the snow is not as fun as the sand, we will be ready for the spring."
After the Rutgers match, the Big Green appeared a bit off-guard, losing their second straight, 6-3, to Florida International. In the match, sophomore Sarah Anderson downed her opponent 6-0, 6-0, before joining Bray to win at No. 3 doubles.
Kirkmire won Dartmouth's final match of the afternoon with a straight set thumping of her opponent at No. 5 singles.
The Big Green was able to rebound quickly after two consecutive losses, beating Broward College, 6-3. Dartmouth's line-up proved too solid for Broward, sweeping the doubles matches. Bray continued to breeze through her spring as did Kirkmire and Anderson, combining to give up only two games.
Dartmouth lost its final match of the week to Lynn University on Thursday, 8-1. Unfortunately for the Big Green, Taff and Buehler, No. 2 and No. 3 singles players, respectively, were sidelined due to injuries. Without the core of their singles line-up, the Big Green came away with only one match when Bray and Lange won at No. 2 doubles.
"Overall, I was pleased with our spring break performances," Kerr said. "I felt we played better as the week progressed. We worked out some doubles combinations and saw some very promising play. Michelle Bray had a particularly good week."
The Big Green returns to action on April 5 when they host the Terriers of Boston University.
"We will fine tune our singles lineup before our first match against BU," Kerr said. "We will continue to work hard to be in the best playing form possible for those matches and BU."
