The men's tennis team lost 4-3 to Army (10-1) on Saturday, snapping their three match winning streak. The match against West Point, who is ranked 75th in the nation, was the biggest test so far for the Big Green. The loss was their first at home and dropped the team's record to 5-4 overall.
The match started in Dartmouth's favor, as they won two out of the three doubles matches to take the doubles point. Dave Waslen '07 and Steve McGaughey '07 won at the number two doubles slot 8-6 and Mark Brodie '07 and Jeff Schechtman '08 won 8-4 at the number three spot.
Army duo Kevin Harris and Carl Fisher battled hard to win the number one seeded doubles match 9-8 over Dartmouth co-captains Dave Webb '05 and Andres Reyes '05.
The doubles event has been a bright spot for the Big Green early in the season. Winning the doubles point Saturday gave Dartmouth the point for the fourth time in as many matches. They have swept the doubles matches in their previous three wins.
"We are getting to be a really good doubles team," Head Coach Charles Kinyon said. "We played really well in doubles and we had a great opportunity. To lose it in singles was very disappointing."
Against a solid Army team though, the trend did not continue and the Black Knights took four of the six singles matches. Dave Waslen, who won 6-3,7-6 (3), at the number two spot and Prya Sahu, who won 6-2,4-6,7-5, at the number five spot secured the only Dartmouth wins. Waslen's win was his third straight. He has been one of the most consistent players on the team and has been filling the role demanded of him at the number two spot. His opponent, Carl Fisher, has been alternating between Army's number one and number two slot.
"Dave has picked up his game fifty percent from last year," Kinyon commented. "He works tremendously hard and is playing great."
At the number one slot, Dave Webb lost for the second week in a row. The match, against Army's John Houghton, was very evenly played; Webb took it into the third set before losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
There were very few unforced errors and Webb's nagging injuries started to hinder his play as the match progressed.
"Dartmouth came out really strong in the doubles matches. Our only chance to win was to outfight them," said Houghton. "The only way to beat good players like Webb is to tire them out."
Kinyon agreed that Webb wore down. "Webb played with a lot of heart, but he got tired. I told Webby to shorten the points. His injuries have prevented him from working out. He's not quite fit enough."
The loss was a downer, but the Big Green now looks forward to their trip over spring break.
"It was very disappointing to lose 4-3," Webb commented. "But our goal for the season isn't to beat Army. Hopefully we can build on this."
The win for Army was its fourth over Ivy League competition.
"A win would have made a nice statement," Waslen said. "This was our short-term goal. Now we're putting it behind us and looking forward to California."
Over the trip, the team will play five schools, starting with Utah on March 19. The matches will be Dartmouth's first outside since they lost four weeks ago to Furman and Clemson in South Carolina.
With a productive performance out West, the Big Green will hopefully gain the momentum necessary to propel them into contention for the Ivy League title.
"With everyone healthy and playing to their potential, we can be a really solid team," Waslen continued. "Hopefully we can do well in California, come back on energetic on a high and go strong into Ivy play."