"Last year, we had a pretty good team," he said, "but this year this team is a lot better. I think we're ready; we should win both of the [matches] this weekend," he said.
While the Big Green (2-3) held back a late rally by the Army Black Knights to secure a 5-2 victory on Saturday, the squad was unable to capitalize on early success in doubles play against No. 25 Clemson, falling to the Tigers 5-2 Sunday morning. The weekend split drops Dartmouth's record below .500 early in the match play season.
Against host Army, which lost all three of its matches over the weekend, the Big Green second and third doubles players quickly posted key victories. Jeff Schechtman '08 and Mark Brodie '07 handled their opponents convincingly 8-4, while the tandem of Shrestha and freshman Ari Gayer '09 clinched their match by a score of 8-6.
The single's lineup provided plenty of support, as the Big Green won five out of the first six sets en route to posting four victories in the singles flight. Dartmouth built a quick 3-0 lead over Army after wins by Schechtman (6-3, 6-3) and Steve McGaughey '07 (6-0, 2-6, 6-2).
However, the Black Knights would not go out quietly. After winning the first set 6-3, captain Dave Waslen '07 dropped the next two sets to John Houghton 6-4, 6-4. At No. 4, Shrestha's comeback attempt came up short as he fell 4-6, 6-3, 1-6 against Army sophomore Eddie Kang, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year.
With the gap in the overall score closed to 3-2, Army tried to gain the lead with victories at the No. 2 and No. 5 singles spots, but Dartmouth would not be denied its first win of year, as Brodie won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and Gayer sealed the victory at No. 5 in a second set tiebreaker, winning 6-3, 7-6 (9-7).
On Sunday, the Big Green continued to have success in doubles play against ACC power Clemson. The tandems of Schechtman-Brodie (8-5) and Shrestha-Gayer (8-6) clinched their second victories in as many days, as the Big Green jumped out to an early 1-0 lead.
However, points would be hard to come by for the squad during singles play, as the Tigers captured victories in the first four singles slots on their way to the victory.
Both Waslen and Brodie won their first sets in the singles draw, but their Clemson counterparts rebounded to win the last two sets and defeat the Dartmouth juniors.
The Tigers victories did not come easily, however. Waslen lost both sets 6-4, while Brodie dropped a second set tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4) before bowing out in the third set 6-1. Gayer held on for the lone singles point, dispatching Clint Boling at No. 5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Despite the setback against Clemson, head coach Chuck Kinyon was impressed by his team's performance on the court last weekend.
"We had a good start to the season with the win over Army," he said. "We made the Tigers of Clemson very, very nervous."
He was pleased with the fast start in the matches, referring to the team's early success at the doubles position as "exceptional" victories. However, Kinyon attributed the losses to Clemson in the singles matches to a few missed chances by the players.
"Unfortunately, Ari was the only one who won his match. Mark lost a tough tiebreaker in the second and ran out of gas in the third. Waslen played well; he was up a break in the second and couldn't hold out."
Gayer, who won all of his matches during the weekend, admitted he has felt some freshman anxiety during his early-season matches, especially against the highly-touted Tigers.
"I was pretty intimidated by Clemson," he said, citing their national ranking coming into the contest. However, he said that the team's overall success at West Point helped build confidence for the team that will be vital later in the season. "I know we can compete with the best," he said.
The Big Green will return to the Boss Tennis Center in Hanover this weekend when the team hosts Colgate Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a clash with Manhattan College at 2 p.m. Sunday.
