The Dartmouth women's tennis team concluded its season with a 6-1 road loss to perennial Ivy powerhouse Harvard. The Big Green produced many gritty performances against the No. 19 Crimson, including a win by Margaret Fitchet '08 at third singles.
Harvard claimed the doubles point by sweeping the Big Green tandems, though the contests at the first and third positions were hotly contested. At the top of the ladder, co-captain Jayme Ahmed '05 and Megan Zebroski '08 faced one the nation's best teams in No. 32 Melissa Anderson and Celia Durkin.
The match remained close in its early stages, as the score became knotted at three games apiece after Ahmed's flawless hold of serve. The dynamic duo demonstrated why they had ascended to the level of an elite Ivy League doubles team, as Ahmed boomed blazing first serves and Zebroski finished off the game with a magnificent angled backhand volley.
Despite playing at the same level as their Harvard adversaries, Dartmouth could only muster one more game after tying the match at 3-3. However, Ahmed impressively managed to hold her serve on all three occasions, and both players put forth admirable efforts against a top opponent in the 8-4 loss.
The third doubles match also featured an inspired effort by the team of Katie Jaxheimer '06 and Maggie Suydam '08. The pairing fell into an early hole after losing the first five games of the match, yet the duo clawed back into the contest by taking four of the next five games.
The Crimson team of Preethi Mukundan and Eva Wang built their lead back up to 7-4, but the Big Green still managed to extend the match to win on a Suydam service game before eventually bowing out 8-5.
Fitchet's dominating win provided the undisputed highlight of singles play, as the fantastic first-year demolished Harvard senior Alexis Martire, who finished last year ranked No. 84 in the nation. The win also placed Fitchet in the Dartmouth record books, as she set a new mark for singles wins in a season with 25.
Despite the exhortations of the home crowd, Fitchet controlled the contest with her unfailingly accurate groundstrokes. Martire never had a chance in her last home match, and Fitchet emerged victorious by the score of 6-1, 6-2.
"Margaret's a superstar," Kerry Snow '07 said. "It's great that Margaret went into the match confident in herself and not intimidated by Harvard."
In other action, Ahmed -- the owner of the most wins in Dartmouth women's tennis history -- ran into the scorching play of Celia Durkin at No. 1 in a 6-0, 6-3 loss. To the surprise of many, Ahmed did not become engaged in many lengthy rallies against Durkin as the Harvard star hit winners from virtually every spot on the court.
At the second spot, Lindsay Winingham '07 faced off against No. 70 Elsa O'Riain, who again demonstrated the talent of the Harvard squad by hitting numerous amazing shots from all over the court. Nonetheless, Winingham supplied a typically determined performance, even taking the early lead in the second set, before falling 6-3, 6-3.
The deep and talented Harvard lineup finished off the match with wins over Suydam, Zebroski and Ann Scott '06 at the bottom three positions of the ladder.
"Harvard won the Ivy League title with a record of 7-0, they're ranked 50 spots higher than we are in the national rankings, and yet they didn't overwhelm us," Suydam said. "But what was important for us to see was that the difference between their level and our own was not one of ability, but of mindset. Not only are we not far off, but we're the only ones holding ourselves back. At least for me, as a freshman, that realization was critical."
Dartmouth returns all but one player from the team that competed in this year's Ivy season, and the experience gained from this campaign's close Ivy contests will undoubtedly aid the Big Green in the 2005-2006 season.
"We worked very hard this year and put our hearts into every match," Ahmed said. "I know that this team will enjoy success in the years to come."
