The Big Green (6-10, 1-4 Ivy) took on the Bears (11-12, 4-1 Ivy) for Senior Day.
A sizable crowd gathered to watch the four seniors -- No.1 Mark Brodie '07, No.4 Jeffrey Schechtman '08, Robbie Lim '08, and David Steinberg '08 -- compete in the last home game of their Dartmouth careers.
Brodie was the star of the day, shutting out his opponent, Brown's No.1 Saurab Kohli.
Brodie used an overwhelming serve to his advantage while outrunning his opponent, who was clearly fatigued in the 78 degree heat, to finish the match, 6-0, 6-0.
Brodie also had a large cheering section of friends who spent the day yelling praise and belittling his opponents relentlessly.
"The fans were huge," Brodie said "[My opponent] got really mad and complained to the officials... I really think it changed the match."
Unfortunately, Brodie's efforts were not enough to change the outcome of the contest. Brown won in convincing fashion, as Justin Tzou '10 was the only player besides Brodie to win a set.
The doubles point was hard-fought, but went to Brown in the end.
The team of Ari Gayer '09 and freshman Curtis Roby '11 was able to pull out a victory at the No. 3 doubles spot.
The top two tandems of Brodie and Schechtman and Daniel Freeman '10 and Tzou were unable to finish their opponents, and both lost after dropping crucial serve points.
The doubles point proved critical, as it decided the momentum of the match.
Brown's close victories in doubles play gave it a wave of momentum to ride into singles play that only Brodie managed to overcome.
"It's fun when you win yourself, but it's only so good with a loss for the team," Brodie said.
"It sucks to lose the doubles point, because whoever wins the doubles point, we've seen that they generally win the match. It's frustrating to lose it and lose that momentum right off the bat."
At No. 2 singles, Freeman was bested by Jon Pearlman. After just barely winning the first set in a tense finish, 7-5, Pearlman dominated the second set, 6-1, to gain the first singles point for the Bears.
Tzou was impressive in No. 3 singles, but he couldn't finish his opponent despite winning the first set, 6-3. It would be the last set that Dartmouth would win all day, as Brown turned up the heat on the Big Green for the last part of the battle.
At No. 4 singles, senior Jeffrey Schechtman also lost to Basu Ratnam, who, at 6'5" tall, played with an overpowering style that proved too difficult for Schechtman to handle.
Ratnam also picked up a win against Schechtman and Brodie in the doubles point.
Schechtman's match sealed the win for Brown, and the efforts of Gayer and Roby proved futile. Both lost in straight sets.
Despite a disappointing finish that blemished the day's exciting start, the members of the team were in high spirits.
"It was a great match, and a great way to end Senior Day and my last home game at Dartmouth," Brodie said.
David Fink '11, expressed pride in the team after the match.
"Watching as a freshman, I just would like to say that it's inspiring to watch the seniors," he said. "They fought hard, there was no lack of effort, and despite the loss, I feel that we did the best we could."
In seventh place in the Ivy League, Dartmouth has two more matches upcoming against Yale (7-9, 2-3 Ivy) and Harvard (13-6, 5-0 Ivy). The Big Green hopes to improve its standing in the conference, but will have a tough match against Harvard.
Harvard remained undefeated this weekend with a victory over Yale, pushing its Ancient Eight record to 5-0.
With its victory over the Big Green, second-place Brown is now within reach of its second Ivy League title in three years. The Bears took on Harvard this week in a contest that could determine this year's 2008 Ivy League champion.
The results of Dartmouth's Sunday match against Yale in New Haven, Conn., and those of the match between Harvard and Brown, were not available as of press time.
The Big Green face off against Harvard this Wednesday in Cambridge, Mass.
