Yesterday was another dark day for Dartmouth tennis, as both the women's and men's squads lost to Harvard.
The Big Green women dropped their last match of the season by a score of 6-3. The real story of the day was the history-making victory of number one player Rebecca Dirksen '00, who became the first women's tennis player in Big Green history to finish undefeated in Ivy League play.
Dirksen earned this title by downing Harvard's Vedica Jain, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, in a victory made even sweeter because of the history between the two former high school rivals. Jain played number one for Henry Gunn High School in Northern California while Dirksen took the second spot. The two were also rivals on the junior circuit.
Dirksen was amazed to finish the season undefeated.
"I can't believe I could string that many wins together," she said.
Dartmouth's other singles point came from number five Carly Bashleben '02, who had an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory over Roxanne Curto.
Dartmouth entered the doubles with a chance to win the match, but could not pull through. Only the number two team of Sarita Yardi '02 and Jenny Lange '00 were victorious, posting an 8-5 win.
The women finished up the season with an even 9-9 overall record and a 2-5 record in league play.
The young team looks forward to better results next year.
"We're not losing any seniors, so we have high hopes for next year," co-captain Allison Taff '00 said. "This year has been a buliding year for everyone, and overall we're pretty happy with the season."
The men had no better luck than the women, as they lost 7-0 to 17th-ranked Harvard in Hanover.
At number one singles, senior Rob Simik lost to Harvard's sophomore star James Blake, 6-0, 6-0. Blake, the top-ranked collegiate player in the country, is expected to turn pro after this year's NCAA Championship.
The singles also featured a heartbreaker lost by freshman Jeff Sloves, who dropped 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 to Mike Passarella.
"The way the first set went, I didn't think I had a chance," Sloves said. "But once I started playing better and putting pressure on him, I found myself with plenty of opportunities to win the match."
In doubles action, the number two team of Simik and senior captain Austin Hawley defeated John Doran and Passarella with a score of 8-4, but the Big Green dropped the other two matches to give the point to Harvard.
That match concluded the season for the Big Green, who finished with a 13-8-1 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the Ivy League.
The men are not entirely disappointed with their season.
"It's tough to end the season like this, but looking back on the whole year, we definitely have some moments to be proud of," Rob Chen '00 said.
Dartmouth's top three singles players are seniors, so next year's prospects are unclear. However, one thing is for certain.
As Sloves said, "We are going to miss those seniors on and off the court next year."
