It was a landmark day for the women's tennis team Tuesday, as the new Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings not only saw the return of the Big Green to the national rankings, but also co-captains Jayme Ahmed '05 and Sarah McNally '05 garnered the No. 56 spot in the national doubles standings.
While McNally has not competed since the Jan. 29 Syracuse match due to an injured ankle, the impressive collection of wins by the two seniors compiled prior to that contest merited their inclusion in the national standings. The duo began the fall season with a 3-0 record at the Volkl Shootout, which included wins over opponents from Boston University, the University of Connecticut and Colgate University.
The most impressive victories for the fantastic fourth-years came later in the fall at the ITA Eastern Regional Championships where they advanced to the quarterfinals of that prestigious event. After thrashing a team from George Mason in the first round, Ahmed and McNally ousted their adversaries from Virginia Tech and Harvard, both of which held seeds in the tournament.
The Harvard pairing of Susanna Lingman and Stephanie Schnitter owned the ninth seed in the draw, while the Virginia Tech team of Felice Lam and Jennifer Larson not only were ranked No. 3 in the event, but also currently occupy the No. 43 position in the national rankings. The Dartmouth duo eventually met its end against another nationally ranked tandem from Virginia Commonwealth University that now holds the No. 31 ranking in the country and ended up reaching the finals of the tournament.
Ahmed and McNally also played in one dual match before McNally's injury, resulting in an 8-3 triumph against Army. The spectacular seniors had already achieved a Northeast Regional ranking in the fall by reaching No. 12 in those standings.
In addition to the historic individual accomplishments of Ahmed and McNally, the Big Green also gained the No. 75 spot in the national team rankings following its victory over Boston College Sunday. The Eagles had entered that contest ranked 66th in the country.
The Dartmouth lady racketeers last cracked the top 75 in April 2004, when they stood at No. 68 at the end of a four-week run in the national standings. Prior to the 2004 season, the Big Green last earned a national ranking for three weeks during the 2002 campaign.
"Even though our ranking of 75 is lower than where we ended up last year, we're a step ahead of where we were because we managed to get a ranking earlier on in our season," Maggie Suydam '08 said. "Last year the ranking didn't come until after spring break. I think it's a testament to how hard we've been working trying to improve, and to how hard our coaches have worked to get us to this position."
Now that the Big Green ranks among the best teams in the country, the ladies will have many chances to ascend higher in the standings against ranked foes later in the season.
"We will be playing some highly-ranked teams on spring break and during the Ivy Season," Megan Zebroski '08 commented, "but I think the close match we played against [then-No. 69] Missouri, the win we just had over BC, and our new ranking will give us confidence as we face these opponents."
The ranked non-conference opponents remaining on Dartmouth's slate include the University of the Pacific, Florida International University and the University of South Florida, all of whom the Big Green will face during their spring break trek to the Sunshine State.
Additionally, Dartmouth will have a chance to measure itself against the stingy competition in the Ivy League schedule, including the perennial powerhouses from Harvard and Pennsylvania. Harvard currently stands at No. 18 in the nation, while Penn occupies the No. 51 position in the country.
In the bigger picture, the individual and team accolades illustrate the extraordinary progress of the Dartmouth women's tennis program over the past few seasons, especially considering the somewhat recent upheaval of the team's coaching situation that only resolved with the arrival of current head coach Bob Dallis prior to the 2002-2003 season. To sum up the prospects of the team, team theologian Ann Scott '06 said: "We're totally sweet."
"We have a really strong team this year," Zebroski added, "and I think that as we play other ranked teams, we will continue to prove how competitive we are on a national level."
