Dartmouth sent eight tennis players to Norfolk, Va., this week to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northeast Regional Tournament. Hosted by Old Dominion University, the tournament spans four days and allows players to qualify for the ITA National Indoor Championships in November by making the final round in this week's matchups.
Both the men's and women's teams enjoyed some of their best performances of the past several years. The Big Green men had claimed two spots in the singles quarterfinals while the women had a doubles team make it to the round of eight as well.
Each participating team sent four players to the tournament to compete in both singles and doubles events.
The Dartmouth men were represented by team captain Mark Brodie '08, Jeff Schechtman '08, Justin Tzou '10 and Dan Freeman '10. Brodie and Tzou advanced to the singles quarterfinals and played their matches on Monday afternoon. Brodie and Freeman formed a doubles team that advanced to the third round before falling to Princeton on Sunday.
Tzou, an unseeded player who took the singles bracket by storm over the weekend, lost to the tournament's ninth seeded player 6-4, 6-3.
"I started out a bit slow but as the matches went on, I gradually found my game and began to play at my top level," Tzou said.
"[Tzou] was unseeded and made it to the quarterfinals," Brodie said. "He's always been a really talented player, but it seems like he's really made a breakthrough this weekend as far as metnal toughness is concerned."
Brodie, the 12th seed, emerged victorious after upsetting Harvard's fourth-seeded Chris Clayton, 7-5 and 6-3. He advanced to tomorrow's semifinal match-up in which he will face the tournament's number one seed, Penn State's Michael James.
"There are a lot of top nationally ranked players in this tournament," Brodie said. "The guy I beat in the quarterfinals was ranked 80th in the country, and the guy I'm playing tomorrow in the semifinals is ranked 30th. I'm looking for revenge against him as he beat me earlier this year."
Each of the players who participated in the tournament demonstrated that this team has the potential to not only stand as a notable force within the Ivy League but also compete with some of the nation's top tennis programs.
"[The ITA Regional] is the premier singles and doubles championship held in the region each year," Coach Charles Kinyon said Monday. "This is the best our players have finished since 1993."
The Big Green women sent Megan Zebrowski '08, Molly Scott '11, Jesse Adler '10 and Mary Beth Winingham '10 to compete in both the singles and doubles brackets.
The highlight of the women's tournament was the doubles play of unseeded Adler and Winningham. The women reached the quarterfinals before losing a close match to fourth-seeded Virginia.
Dartmouth's other two players also posted standout performances in singles play. Zebrowski advanced past the qualifiers to the second round of the main draw, and Scott defeated her first two opponents to advance to the third round before suffering a close loss.
"Overall, it was a very successful weekend for our team," Zebrowski said. "Jesse and Mary Beth were impressive in their run to the quarterfinals, defeating some tough opponents along the way."
The women look to improve their doubles play in preparation for the dual matches in winter and spring.
"The focus of practice has been to get strong in doubles and cater to each player's strengths to help them get the most out of their ability," assistant coach Brian Kuscher said.
Both teams conclude the fall season with the Big Green Invitational at Boss Tennis Center this weekend. Boston University, UMass, Stony Brook and the United States Military Academy will be among the schools attending the tournament.
