The Dartmouth women's tennis team continued its impressive fall term by posting an excellent performance at the Women's College Tennis Invitational at the National Tennis Center in New York City on October 10-12. The Invitational included many strong teams from all over the country, including seven of the eight Ivy League squads.
The doubles play of Sarah McNally '05 and Kerry Snow '07 served as a major highlight for the Big Green. The duo soldiered through the B flight draw to reach the final, amassing a quartet of victories on the way.
McNally and Snow first edged a pairing from Penn State by the score of 9-8 (6). Then, the pair faced a team from league foe Columbia, and the Big Green duo picked up its most lopsided win of the weekend with a commanding 8-3 triumph.
McNally and Snow next faced off with a team from the University of Michigan that held the third seed in the tournament. The Wolverines entered the weekend with a lofty national team ranking, but the Big Green tandem was undeterred, and McNally and Snow stunned the ladies from Ann Arbor with an 8-6 victory.
Things did not get any easier for Dartmouth in the semifinals, as a team from the University of Pennsylvania " the perennial Ivy League powerhouse " appeared next on the draw. McNally and Snow dispensed of the Quakers pair by the score of 8-4 to reach the tournament finals, where their run met its conclusion with a loss to another tough Michigan team.
The impressive play of Snow and McNally earned rave reviews from all those in attendance. "Their awesome return of serves, net sealing and newly-found lobs definitely played a role during the tournament," Janis Hui '04 said.
Sparkling doubles play from the Big Green also occurred outside the B flight, as Hui and Lindsey Winingham '07 paired up for the first time in competition to reach the quarterfinal round of the A flight.
The senior and freshman grabbed a tight win in their opening round contest against Army, emerging victorious in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (5). Their next opponents were Boston College's Allison Ashley and Emily Yemans, a pair that had just toppled the second seeded team in the draw. Yet, the intelligent play and competitive drive of Hui and Winingham overwhelmed the Boston College duo, and the Big Green tandem advanced to the quarterfinals, where another Boston-area team " this time a pairing from league rival Harvard " eliminated the Dartmouth team.
In singles play, the star for the Big Green was Katie Jaxheimer '06. The Wyomissing, PA native blitzed through the first three rounds of the C flight before falling to Pennsylvania's Raluca Ciochina " the eventual winner of the tournament " in the semifinals.
Jaxheimer started her terrific run with a straight-sets victory over Helen Magomedova of Rutgers, 6-4, 6-0. In the second round, Jaxheimer matched up against Cheryl Naruse of the University of Washington, a member of one of the top women's tennis squads in the country, as the Huskies ended last spring's campaign ranked sixth in the nation.
However, Jaxheimer added another amazing upset to Dartmouth's growing total for the weekend with a strong performance against Naruse, which resulted in a 6-3, 6-0 win for the Big Green sophomore.
After two straight-set triumphs, Jaxheimer showed her resilience in a three-set thriller versus Lucia Aniello of Columbia. After dropping the opening set by the score of 6-3, Jaxheimer rallied to take the next set 6-4. Jaxheimer then completed her comeback with a 10-7 win in the third-set superbreaker.
In A-flight singles action, co-captain Cat Crandall '04 bested Cornell's Laura Tallent 6-4, 6-1 and McNally defeated Army's Merissa Limsiaco 6-3, 6-2. In the B flight, Winingham eliminated Rachel Shweky of Pennsylvania 6-1, ret. while classmate Snow tipped Princeton's Laura Trimble 4-6, 6-4, 10-6.
"Playing at the National Tennis Center in New York in such beautiful weather was an absolutely thrilling experience," Hui said. "Thinking about the history of the U.S. Open and knowing that the great ones had once sweated on those courts gave us incredible energy and inspiration. This weekend was something special."
Next on the docket for the Big Green women's tennis team was the ITA Northeast Regional Championship, which took place at Virginia Tech on October 24-28. The event hosted elite players hailing from schools up and down the east coast. Jaxheimer, Crandall and McNally represented Dartmouth in the event.
Jaxheimer posted another impressive performance by winning three matches in the singles back draw. She started her run against Virginia Tech's Felice Lam. Not only did Lam have the advantage of playing at home, but she also ended up advancing to the final of the tournament's doubles draw. Jaxheimer still managed to vanquish her Hokie adversary in three sets by the score of 7-6, 0-6, (10-4). Jaxheimer went on to add two more wins before being eliminated.
The doubles tandem of Crandall and Jaxheimer tallied one more victory for the Big Green by prevailing 8-6 over a team from Fordham in the first round.
The lady racketeers have their final competition of the fall term this weekend at Dartmouth in the Big Green Invitational. The tournament commences at 8 a.m. on Saturday, November 1.