Dartmouth (4-14, 0-4 Ivy) managed to win only three matches on the weekend, two of which were secured by Curtis Roby '11, who played in the fourth spot against the Quakers and the third spot against Princeton.
Roby played solid tennis all weekend, cruising to a straight-set victory against Penn freshman Phil Law 6-2, 6-1 and battling junior George Carpeni of Princeton 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Carpeni is the brother of Shelly Carpeni '12, who plays on the Dartmouth women's tennis team.
Unfortunately, Roby was the lone bright spot for Dartmouth against Penn. Big Green number-one Dan Freeman '10 took his opponent Hicham Laalej to three sets, but was unable to pull through. The monstrous Laalej, who stands 6'6" tall and hails from Morocco, edged the California native 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Aside from a win in No. 3 doubles from Chris Ho '12 and Justin Tzou '11, Dartmouth did not manage to capture another set against the Quakers. Captain Ari Gayer '09 took his opponent to the brink in both sets, but lost a tight 7-5, 7-5 contest to Penn freshman Jason Linn.
Overall, consensus among the Big Green indicated that the team did not play anywhere near their peak on the first day of their road trip.
"Playing on the road was a huge factor," Freeman said. "The match at Penn was outdoors, and we were unable to settle down."
Michael Laser '12 echoed Freeman's sentiments.
"Many of the guys, including myself, did not play to our potential on Friday, and it showed in the score," Laser said.
Laser was introduced this weekend at the No. 6 singles spot for Dartmouth after having played mainly doubles all season. When the Big Green returned to the courts at Princeton after a disappointing day in Philadelphia, Pa., the rookie notched the first dual match singles triumph of his career, a smooth 6-2, 6-3 victory over junior Ilva Trubov.
Along with Roby's second consecutive singles victory over the weekend, Laser's victory secured the only other point for the Big Green. The match's 5-2 result, however, did not reflect its true closeness.
"I think the weekend started off poorly at Penn, but we fought really well at Princeton," Freeman said. "We were literally a couple points away in two matches from running away with the 'W.'"
Roby and Gayer combined for the only doubles victory for the Big Green, crushing sophomore Ryan Kim and Trubov 8-2.
"After losing the doubles point, we started to play some good singles," Laser added. "I played well and beat my opponent to tie up the score. We went into three sets in the remaining matches. A few points didn't go our way and we weren't able to win at four and five."
The singles was indeed decidedly closer against the Tigers, marking distinct improvement for Dartmouth.
Freeman dropped a tiebreaker in the second set to lose 6-3, 7-6 (3), while No. 2 Stephen Greif '11 was outlasted in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Roby and Laser's wins temporarily brought the contest within reach for the Big Green, but a turning point in the match occurred in Tzou's No. 4 match.
"Tzou played a third-set tiebreaker with the team score at 2-3," Freeman said. "He ended up losing the breaker, and Princeton clinched. It was a huge momentum changer, and made a difference in the ending stages of Ari's match."
After Tzou barely lost 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5), Gayer was unable to pull it out in the third, falling 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 to Charlie Brosens.
Freeman noted how easily the Princeton match could have gone Dartmouth's way, especially on the road.
"The match at Princeton came down to the final two matches that were both late in their third sets, and the home courts and crowd definitely made a difference," Freeman said.
Now 0-4 in the Ivy League, the Big Green will try to harness some of the high points from the weekend campaign, particularly the Princeton match.
"The weekend overall was a positive experience for our team," Laser said. "Princeton has beat some tough Ivy teams and this showed us that we are able to play with everyone. Hopefully we can bring some momentum into the remainder of the season."
"There is very little difference between the [Ivy] teams," Freeman said. "Any team can really win on a given day. We are really close in these matches, but have so far walked away a little unlucky."
Dartmouth will return to the courts this week at home in Hanover, looking to get in the win column in the Ivies.
"If we play as well next weekend as we did on Saturday, then we should be in good shape," said Freeman.
The team takes on Yale at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Boss Tennis Center.
