To start off the doubles portion of the match, Waslen and McGaughey finished off their doubles careers on a high note, defeating the Crimson's lead duo of Ashwin Kumar and Sasha Ermakov convincingly, 8-4. Unfortunately for the Big Green (16-10, 1-6 Ivy), the team would drop the final two doubles matches to Harvard and fail to score the point.
Although Dartmouth did not get the point, both seniors expressed their happiness after winning their final doubles match together.
"Having played with Dave for so long there was nothing better than going out with a win," McGaughey said. "We had a couple real close matches that we dropped before that, so turning it around for both of our last double matches was great. Of course, it's bittersweet to win our match but not get the point, however it was important to gain that momentum going into our singles matches."
Waslen had similar sentiments.
"Winning the doubles match with Steve was a great way to go out," Waslen said. "The match was altogether more emotional than I thought it would be. It's tough to drop something like this so suddenly when you're playing well and trying to be at your top performance. I guess everything has to come to an end."
Although the departures of both Waslen and McGaughey both represent significant losses for next year's roster, it looks to be a bright future for the Dartmouth men's tennis team. Next year's roster will include a slew of sophomores and juniors along with a few seniors.
"Obviously both will be missed next year," Daniel Freeman '10 said. "McGaughey had just about the best record on the team and is a fantastic doubles player. He also played a big role in leading the team and keeping us together."
"Also, being a captain for his second year, Waslen knew exactly how to lead the team, and point us in the right direction," Freeman continued. "It was especially helpful for me, playing doubles with him for most of the season, because he was able to show me the ropes."
The fact that the team is so young should be helpful for the future.
"The future of the team is looking very good for next year," McGaughey said. "Though it's always hard to tell how incoming freshmen will contribute to the team, we have a bunch of strong guys who should help really strengthen next year's lineup. I think the team is heading in a positive direction and hopefully next year the team can really prove that."
The team looks to have 11 players returning for next season.
