The men's tennis team swept a double-header this Saturday to improve to 3-2 this winter. After dominating Colgate (3-11) and UMBC (1-4), the Big Green now has a three-game win streak. The final score in both matches was 6-1, and Dartmouth won all the doubles matches. The Big Green are now 3-0 at home.
By sweeping the doubles matches, Dartmouth was able to secure the first point against the Colgate Raiders and take their momentum into the singles round. Coming off an impressive win against BC two weeks ago, co-captains Dave Webb '05 and Andres Reyes '05 continued their stellar play to win 8-1 over Colgate's top doubles team.
"In the past few years, Colgate has given us some trouble," Reyes commented. "It was especially nice to start off strong and really make a statement with the sweep of the doubles point."
Raj Shrestha '06 and Travis Maiers '07 matched their success with another 8-1 win, and Jeff Schechtman '08 and Mark Brodie '07 completed the sweep in the closest match with an 8-6 victory.
Dartmouth kept up its strong play in the singles matches. Dave Waslen '07, after losing a tough match against BC, played hard to come away with a 6-4, 6-4 win in the number two spot. Following suit, Steve McGaughey '07 , Priya Sahu '05 and Logan West '05, who won easily 6-1, 6-0, all came away with wins. The match was clinched by John Bois '05. Bois won his first set 6-1 and was then awarded the victory after his opponent retired down 4-0 in the second set. The only loss against Colgate came in the number one singles slot as Dave Webb '05 lost to Reed Hagman 6-4, 6-3.
Coach Charles Kinyon switched up the lineup for the match against the UMBC Retrievers, and the Big Green responded with another impressive performance. Waslen stepped up after being put in both the number one doubles and number one singles slot for the UMBC match to improve to 3-0 on the day. Waslen was content with his performance but more concerned with the outcome for the team as a whole. "On an individual basis, I thought I played well and gained a lot of experience from playing high up on the team. But this part of the season is all about us as a team, so no matter what spot I play, I just want to give the team the best chance to win the match."
The three new doubles pairings comprised of Waslen and McGaughey, West and Sahu, and Reyes and Bois; all three duos won by a score of 8-6. Dartmouth again proceeded to win five of the six singles matches. Reyes and Maiers played in their first singles match of the season and impressed by winning straight sets in their victories. Sahu, with a win in his single match, became the third to win three matches on the day, along with Reyes and Waslen. Brodie secured the final victory at the number two spot.
In his third match of the day, Logan West played hard but lost to UMBC's Irfan Shamasdin. Despite winning thoroughly in the first set 6-1, West let Shamasdin come back to win the closest match of the day 1-6,7-6 (16-14). The loss was a downer to a very solid day for West. "After coming out strong in the first set, I let my level of play drop a bit, and Shamasdin picked his game up," West remarked. "At this level, you can't afford those kind of mental lapses because a good player will make you pay."
Starting the winter 0-2 with losses to Furman and Clemson, the Big Green has turned around its play with three-straight dominating wins.
"I think the South Carolina trip was a gut check for us, especially the Furman match, which we came so close to winning," Reyes said. "We've picked up the intensity level of our practices, and I think the results are starting to show."
One of the biggest tests comes next week against Army. "Army is nationally ranked," Reyes continued. "Beating them would provide us with a huge boost of momentum going into our spring trip."
The Black Knights are ranked 75 nationally, and the match will serve as a barometer for Dartmouth.
West echoed his captain's sentiment. "I feel confident that our squad can get the job done next weekend, but we will all have to bring our best tennis. A win over Army would be a great confidence boost going into our spring trip, where we will face some tough competition in California."
The Big Green faces off against Army Saturday at the Boss Tennis Center.
