Both the men's and women's tennis teams notched a pair of convincing victories over the past several days, as the men racketeers defeated Massachusetts 7-0 and Colgate 7-0 while the women's squad pummeled Massachusetts 7-0 and Charleston Southern 7-0. All the action occurred in the friendly confines of the Boss Tennis Center.
With the wins, the men finished their winter season with an 8-3 mark, while the ladies' pair of victories improved their record to 9-3 on the year.
On Friday, both teams easily handled the squads from UMass. The men were dominant against the Minutemen, winning all nine matches for a clean sweep in both singles and doubles.
The only UMass player to cause the Big Green any significant trouble was Steve Prisco, who took Jeff Sloves '02 to three sets at the number-one singles slot before Sloves disposed of him 5-7, 6-3, 3-0 (retired). In the first position doubles, Sloves and Drew Dinkmeyer '04 edged Sloves and his partner Todd Champeau 9-7.
Other than those two close calls, Dartmouth coasted to easy victories across the board. In the other doubles contests, Chris Gonyer '05 and Neal Bobba '04 won 8-0 while Borko Kereshi '04 and Jesse Paer '04 emerged victorious 8-1 at the second and third positions, respectively.
Gonyer, Kereshi, Bobba, Dinkmeyer and David Webb '05 all triumphed in their singles matches against the Minutemen without difficulty.
The lady racketeers were similarly dominant in their dual match against Massachusetts.
The Big Green took all six singles matches, with Sarita Yardi '02, Carly Bashleben '02, Arden Fredeking '04, Jayme Ahmed '05, Kelsey Surbaugh '04 and Evie Stevens '05 all winning in straight sets.
The lone stumble occurred in No. 2 doubles, where Fredeking and Sarah McNally '05 dropped a close contest by the score of 8-6. Nonetheless, wins from the teams of Yardi and Bashleben at No. 1 and Ahmed and Surbaugh at No. 3, both by the scores of 8-0, enabled Dartmouth to take the doubles point.
The women kept up their positive momentum into the match versus Charleston Southern on yesterday, earning a second consecutive shutout.
Strong doubles play set the tone early against the Lady Bucs, as the Big Green attained a sweep of the three matches. Ahmed and Catherine Crandall '04 rolled to an 8-0 win at No. 3 and the second pairing of Fredeking and Lisa Borowsky '05 won 8-4. At No. 1 doubles, Yardi and Bashleben grabbed an early break at 1-1 behind some punishing returns and never looked back, prevailing by the score of 8-1.
The singles matches were more of the same, as Dartmouth took all six in straight sets. Ahmed in particular looked strong at No. 4, where she made quick work of her opponent in a 6-0, 6-0 shellacking.
"It was good to get one last confidence booster before we head out to Georgia for Spring Break where we'll have some really tough competition," said co-captain Yardi, "so we're really looking forward to that opportunity."
The men picked up their second win of the weekend against Colgate on Saturday.
The Big Green again displayed its doubles prowess by sweeping the Raiders in the three doubles matches.
The same dominance continued through the singles competition, where Dartmouth won all six matches. At No. 1, Sloves prevailed 6-4, 6-2, and Gonyer also won in straight sets at No. 2, taking out his opponent by the score of 6-3, 6-1.
Webb dropped the first set in his match at No. 6 but clawed back to preserve the shutout for the Big Green, ultimately triumphing 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.
"Two solid home wins is a great way to end the winter season," said co-captain Sloves. "Everyone is starting to gel their game at just the right time."
The men next face Central Florida on March 16 at the LaJolla Beach and Tennis Club, while the women play next at Georgia State on March 16.
