"I'm very pleased at how we did. We won a lot of individual matches that were very close," coach Chuck Kinyon said of the winter season. "We won a high percentage of tiebreakers. That shows a great amount of mental toughness we haven't showed in a while."
Captain Dave Waslen '07 said that the team showed its winning ways right from the start when it opened the winter campaign at West Point on Jan. 28-29.
"We started off with two matches away, and we played really well and proved to ourselves at that point that we can compete with anybody," he said.
The doubleheader didn't start off easy for Dartmouth against Stony Brook, but the Big Green was determined to overcome the challenge posed by the Seawolves. Dartmouth won the opening doubles points with tight 8-6 victories coming from Waslen and Steve McGaughey '07 at No. 1 and Raj Shrestha '06 and Ari Gayer '09 at No. 3. Mark Brodie '07 and Jeffrey Schechtman '08 dropped their first doubles match of the winter season, losing a shortened tiebreak 8-6.
Waslen and Brodie, playing in their usual No. 1 and No. 2 slots, respectively, quickly found out that they were in for tough singles matches when they each dropped the first set. Waslen dominated Tal Meir of the Seawolves in the second set en route to a 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (5) triumph while Brodie had a slightly more difficult time dispatching Mihal Advani to clinch the frame and win the shortened contest 3-6, 6-4, 3-3 (5).
"I didn't take the right approach to the match," Waslen said. "As the match went on, I buckled down and said to myself, 'I better figure out a way to beat this guy.' It's a mental game out there to keep yourself motivated and give 100 percent."
Things did not get much easier for the rest of the Big Green in the other singles matches. Schechtman turned in a quick victory with a 7-6, 6-1 decision at No. 3 despite falling behind 6-5 after going up 5-4 in the first set. McGaughey had to tackle two lengthened sets in the No. 5 match to complete his 7-5, 7-6 (3).
Rashaad Elder-Bush '06, usually dominant at the No. 6 position for Dartmouth, had some trouble in the second set before coming away 6-3. 4-6, 3-3 (5). Gayer, playing at No. 4, had the easiest victory compared to his teammates with his 6-2, 6-3 triumph.
Matches were shortened to tiebreakers after McGaughey's victory because the men's match had pushed back the women's contest against the University of Connecticut.
Fatigue did not seem to play a role in when the Big Green took on UConn late in the evening as Dartmouth blew out the Huskies in an inspired match from start to finish.
"The guys really persevered," Kinyon said of the UConn match, which started close to three hours later than its scheduled time. "We didn't let up a bit against them."
"Our team's fitness is pretty good; it's close to where we want it to be," Waslen said. "We dominated them, and it was nice to see that after a long day."
A clean sweep in doubles got the match underway, as Waslen-McGaughey (8-0), Schechtman-Brodie (8-2) and Elder-Bush-Gayer (8-1) sent a convincing message going into singles play.
The Huskies failed to mount any sort of resistance and the Big Green would not lose any more than two points in any set on the way to straight-set victories across the board. Waslen posted a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 while Brodie ran away in his match 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2.
Gayer, moved up to No. 3 to replace Schechtman, continued to show great form in his 6-0, 6-0 triumph. He ended the winter season undefeated in singles matches, earning a 7-0 mark.
"He's done an amazing job," Kinyon said of the freshman. "I think he'll get nothing but better, and he's a great asset to our program."
McGaughey filled the void left by Gayer at No. 4 and added 6-2, 6-1 victory for the Big Green. Robbie Lim '08 posted a 6-2, 6-2 decision at No. 5 and Travis Maiers '07 rounded out the domination in the singles lineup for Dartmouth with his 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 6.
With more training and a trip to California on the horizon, Kinyon said that fitness and technique will be the keys if the team hopes to continue to build on the success it displayed in the winter.
"We've got to keep our edge, and we've got to hit a lot of tennis balls," he said. "That's how you get better, that's how you keep you're flow going into the matches."
Kinyon also noted that the upcoming schedule will pose a greater challenge to the Big Green, especially when Dartmouth tackles the always balanced Ivy League.
"Now it gets tougher, it doesn't get easier" he said. "I think we're on our way to being prepared."
"We're going to have some very tough teams in California," Waslen added, alluding to matches against Pacific, the University of California San Diego, Loyola Marymount, and the University of California Santa Barbara.
Before those matches, the Big Green will continue to train and then return to action when the squad travels to Salt Lake City, Utah on March 18 to take on Utah. Match time is set for 12 p.m.
