Women's tennis fails to capture elusive Ivy League victory
The Harvard match marked not only the last contest of the season, but also the final match for the Big Green's two senior captains, Lindsay Winingham '07 and Kerry Snow '07.
"We wanted to leave it all out on the court and go home proud," Snow said.
The loss leaves Dartmouth (8-11, 0-7 Ivy) winless in the Ivy League for the first time since 1996 and the second time in program history. Dartmouth's most successful years were in 1988 and 1992 when the Big Green came in second both times behind Harvard with a record of 6-1.
Now, after five seasons with Dartmouth, head coach Bob Dallis experienced his first Ivy season without a single victory.
"We were not able to have the whole team play well at the same time," he said of the team's shortcomings.
Dartmouth was unable to convert for the doubles point, winning at the one-seed, but losing No. 2 and No. 3.
Megan Zebroski '08 and Natalie O'Rourke '08 defeated their Crimson rivals in the No. 1 doubles match 8-4. In No. 3 doubles, Jesse Adler '10 and Maggie Suydam '09 lost to Harvard 8-2. The sister team of Mary Beth Winingham '10 and Lindsay Winingham were unable to lay claim to victory in their last match together, losing 8-4 in the No. 2 doubles match-up.
Dartmouth has two sister teams, the Murrays and Wininghams. Looking back on her season, Lindsay Winingham enjoyed being able to play alongside her little sister.
"We had a lot of fun together and got along really well on the court," she said. "It's a unique experience being able to play with your sister in that type of situation."
Recently, the concentration has not been solely on school and tennis for Lindsay Winingham.
After the death of a close family friend, she flew home to Indiana directly after the Yale match. She then flew to Harvard from her home, bypassing Dartmouth, thus missing a few days of school and practice in the process. Even after all she had been through in the past weeks, Lindsay Winingham decided to play for the last chance at a collegiate win. She was placed lower in the lineup at No. 5 singles, and Adler was moved up in the rotation.
"I had a lot going on recently with the funeral and had not been practicing," Lindsay Winingham said. "Jesse has always been a good player, just kind of how the ball bounces."
After dropping the doubles point, Dartmouth's top four singles were unable to win and lost in straight sets, with only No. 5 and No. 6 singles earning match points.
Dartmouth took No. 6 singles when Jamie Caplan '09 went 7-6 and 6-2 over Harvard.
In No. 5 singles, Lindsay Winingham had the final victory of her college career, going 6-3 in the first set and battling out a close second set, 7-6.
"It was nice to win in a close match," Lindsay Winingham said. "Close matches were always my favorite part of playing, and to end with that kind of match and remembering what the competition was about felt really good."
Four freshman recruits from the Class of 2011 will be matriculating in the fall for the next tennis season.
