Coming off much early season success, a short-handed Dartmouth men's tennis team flew to Oklahoma to battle two teams ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA Division I standings, Tulsa and Oklahoma State University. Despite playing competitively, the Big Green still dropped both matches to bring its record to 4-3 on the season.
The daunting challenge was an early-season heavyweight bout, as the team fought two tough programs and, subsequently, obtained a feel for where it stood in relation to the nation's best programs.
The Big Green racketeers definitely came away with some wounds and tough shots to the collective team body, but the bout provided valuable experience and important training in the heavyweight ranks.
However, hopes for a successful weekend were initially faint for Dartmouth because it traveled without pivotal sophomore sensation Drew Dinkmeyer, who could not make the trip because of what he described as "a rabid case of pink eye."Accordingly, Dartmouth started play on Saturday with a reshuffled line-up: everyone below No. 1-man and senior team captain Jeff Sloves shifted around to different positions.
The Big Green thus came into the match in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar position, having to compensate for Dinkmeyer's absence, as the loss of one player in the format of college tennis has serious ramifications.
On Saturday, the team played Tulsa, the 47th-ranked team in the nation, in the new Michael Case Tennis Center. Tulsa came out clicking at all positions, finding rhythm early and consistently throughout the match against the Big Green. The pressure of Tulsa's tenacious play and a reshuffled lineup proved to be insurmountable obstacles for the team to negotiate, adding up to a 6-1 loss for the Green. Tulsa racked up three easy doubles wins in the superset format, with Sloves and Chris Gonyer '05 providing the most competetive score with an 8-5 loss.
However, the singles matches provided much closer battles. It was the youth of the team that lead the way, as Gonyer and fellow freshman Andres Reyes started off with opening-set victories. Reyes held on for a straight-set victory at 6-3, 7-5, giving Dartmouth its only point of the day, while Gonyer dropped a tough fight at 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 to Ryan Livesay, who put together some brilliant play in the second and third sets as Gonyer ran out of gas and, as he put it, "lost his rhythm."
Jesse Paer '04 provided the other exciting singles match for the Green, as he bounced back from a first-set loss to extend the match to three. Unfortunately, Tulsa's Sean Monk put together a string of great shot-making that lasted the entire third set, precluding Paer's chances at bringing another "W" into the Dartmouth column.
As is often the case in intercollegiate athletics, there is no rest for the weary, with the beat-up men's team taking on Oklahoma State, another Top-50 team, at Indian Springs Country Club in Broken Arrow, Okla., the next day.
Dartmouth was able to bounce right back in the milder and friendlier-on-the-joints Oklahoma climate, giving OSU "a real run for their money," according to coach Chuck Kinyon.
The Big Green dropped the doubles point 2-1 with much-improved play from the day before, with Sloves and Gonyer winning at the third spot in routine fashion.
Dartmouth went into singles play licking its lips and sensing a potential victory. Borko Kereshi '04 handed OSU's Mike McCarty an old-fashioned butt-whipping at 6-0, 6-2, getting off the court in under an hour and giving the Dartmouth corner its first point of the day.
At No. 1, Sloves looked impressive, having only one break point all day. The match featured classic exchanges and brilliant winners, with Sloves being forced to hold serve every time. He emerged victorious in two tiebreaks, giving himself a great win over OSU's Matt Prentice.
The decisive points in the team match came down to Neal Bobba '04 and Gonyer. Both matches had long rallies and exquisite shot-making, but both Green players came up on the short end of the stick. Bobba couldn't pull it out in the third set, losing 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, while Gonyer went down in two tough sets at 7-6, 6-4.
These wins gave Oklahoma State the 4-2 edge, with Dartmouth's Andres Reyes having to retire after the first set.
Even though the weekend added up to two losses, the Dartmouth men's tennis team remains positive.
The team has a better idea of what weak areas to work on as the season wears on, and it can take satisfaction from standing toe-to-toe with two strong teams.
Sloves summed up the weekend as "disappointing, but somewhat of a good sign that we competed with these top teams without our full lineup."
Bobba's analysis is much the same, but he felt like the Green knocked on the door both days.
"All of us played some close matches, and a few came out with some pretty impressive wins," Bobba said.
The sophomore identified doubles as the most egregious weakness. Surely with a full lineup this Saturday, Dartmouth will come out with a head full of steam and much to prove at the Alexis Boss Tennis Center here in Hanover.
