In its last tune-up before the winter season, the Dartmouth women's tennis team dominated opponents St. John's University, Boston University and the University of Massachusetts, combining to go 35-2 at the Big Green Invitational over the weekend.
Mary Beth Winingham '10 and co-captain Jesse Adler '10 were crowned co-champions for the singles competition, while the partnership of Winingham and Molly Scott '11 earned the doubles title.
"It was a really impressive performance by our whole team," Adler said.
The Big Green set the tone for the tournament on Friday, going a combined 14-0 in both singles and doubles matches. Only one Dartmouth player had to play a third set on the tournament's opening day.
Overcoming a difficult second set, Shelley Carpeni '12 pulled off a hard-fought victory against St. John's Jenny Yonkus in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, on Friday.
Scott also turned in an impressive opening-day performance, defeating St. John's Ira Aleksova 6-0, 6-1 and pairing up with Winingham in a doubles victory over Yonkus and Ece Firat.
"One of the things we were working on was taking control of your own match and not worrying about things you can't control," Adler said. "We had a good mentality for every match."
Dartmouth continued its strong play on the second day by notching four more wins each in singles and doubles action. Day two featured several competitive matches, including two singles battles that went to three sets.
After dropping the first set 4-6, Sarah Leonard '13 found her rhythm and dismantled opponent Francine Whu of Boston University in the second and third sets, allowing Whu to win only one game over the course of the last two sets.
Adler, who also lost her first set, had a much tougher time against her opponent, Petra Santini of Boston University. After winning the second set 6-4 and seeing the third set tied at five games, Adler was able to win two straight games to earn a 7-5 victory in the final set.
"We had a lot of three-set matches where people came back after losing the first set," co-captain Julia Zak '10 said. "These matches gave us a lot of confidence and a stronger focus."
After a lopsided first two days, the Big Green finished the weekend off strong by going 13-1 on the final day of the tournament. This third day saw both blowouts and several tight finishes.
Carissa King '12 had a strong showing against St. John's Ksenia Mikhaylova, winning both sets, 6-0. Doubles duo Scott and Winingham locked up their doubles title, shutting out Candynce Boney and Maude Lecluyse of Massachusetts, 8-0.
Dartmouth's veteran doubles team of Adler and Zak faced a much more challenging pair from Massachusetts, Magdalena Ploch and Julia Comas. After an 8-8 tie after 16 games, Adler and Zak secured the victory by winning the tie-breaker, 7-2.
"With playing doubles, it's always good for there to be someone out there with you, so you don't feel completely alone out on the court," Adler said.
Adler and Zak provide moral support for each other on the court but also have complementing styles of play, which makes them a dynamic doubles pair, Zak said.
"[Adler] is a very strong baseline player, and I'm better at the net," Zak said. "In doubles, I can finish off points at the net, and [Adler] can hit winners from the baseline."
Overall, Adler was a perfect 6-0 in both singles and doubles matches over the weekend, while Zak finished with a 5-0 record in her matches.
The Big Green Invitational gives family and friends of the players an opportunity to watch them play here on campus, Zak said.
"We had great team spirit all weekend," Zak said. "Practically everyone had family members cheering them on. A lot of fans also came out to support us."
The tournament marks the end of the team's fall season. In the next two months, Dartmouth will look to improve and get ready for the winter and spring seasons.
Despite finishing 2-5 in Ivy League competition last year, the Big Green players are optimistic toward the upcoming season.
"We have a really good shot at doing really well this year," Adler said. "Our goal is to win the Ivy League title every year. The Ivy League is usually very strong, but we have a great group this year."
Dartmouth will return to action in January against Temple University, and will begin its Ivy schedule in April against Cornell.
