Dartmouth (2-2, 0-0 Ivy) downed Marist (3-2, 2-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic) handily 6-1 with strong play throughout the lineup.
The match was highlighted by convincing wins for the Big Green by the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, Dan Freeman '10 and Curtis Roby '11.
Freeman set the tone of the match, defeating Marist junior Christian Coley in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, while Roby swept Marist junior Loic Sessagesimi, 6-2, 6-2.
"Dan played a great match at No. 1 singles," captain Ari Gayer '09 said. "Roby also won easily against a good opponent at No. 2, which was a really good sign."
Gayer, who sat out the match with a knee injury, stressed that a convincing win of Marist bodes well for the team's status among Ivy League opponents.
"It's a good indicator of how we're doing," he said. "Brown also just beat Marist, 6-1, but the matches, especially in singles, were a lot tighter. To roll over a team like that so easily is definitely a good sign."
Dartmouth needs to stay competitive in order to contend against traditional Ivy League powerhouses, Gayer said.
"Right now Harvard is the best, and Columbia is pretty close behind them," he said. "They're the top two Ivies right now, but we've been working very hard and we're looking to compete for the title."
Gayer suggested that the strength of the Dartmouth lineup may lie in its youth, as evidenced against Marist this weekend.
"We're a pretty young team," Gayer, the team's only senior, said. "We have a bunch of freshmen who are contributing, and who will end up playing in our No. 6 singles spot for the bulk of the season."
With Gayer out of the lineup this weekend, two freshmen stepped in to fill the void.
Chris Ho '12 and Andrew Malizia '12 secured wins at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots, defeating Marist sophomore Landon Greene and freshman Matt Himmelsbach 6-4, 7-5, and 6-4, 6-4, respectively.
Michael Laser '12 also teamed up with Ho in doubles to edge out an 8-7 triumph over Greene and sophomore Nicolas Pisecky.
The Big Green swept the Red Foxes in doubles, taking all three single-set matches to eight games. Dartmouth took the doubles point easily, led by the strength of Freeman and his partner Stephen Grief '11, who handed Coley and sophomore Rhys Hobbs a convincing 8-3 loss.
In a slightly closer No. 2 doubles match, the Big Green also emerged victorious, with Roby and Justin Tzou '10 notching an 8-6 win over Sessagesimi and Himmelsbach.
The rest of the singles matches went as smoothly as the wins at the top and bottom of the lineup. The Big Green took a total of five of the six singles points from the Red Foxes.
Grief continued his hot play by winning his consecutive match, cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 victory, but Tzou dropped the lone contest of the day for the Big Green, falling 6-3, 7-5 at the hands of Pisecky.
The Big Green took on Boston College in Hanover Tuesdasy night, but scores from the match were not available by press time.
