"This trip was great because we got a lot of good match experience," Michael Laser '12 said. "We got to play a lot of matches and see a lot of different players."
The Big Green opened its Spring season with a 6-3 win over Point Loma Nazarene University. Dartmouth won four singles matches, to take an early lead. Laser, team captain Curtis Roby '11, Alexander Centenari '13 and Chris Ho '12, all won their matches in straight sets. Roby and Laser continued their solid play, winning their doubles matches in the first two spots with their partners Stephen Greif '11 and Daniel Freeman '10.
Despite the win, Dartmouth suffered a loss as Greif injured his groin, leaving him unable to play in the rest of the trip's matches.
"It was really tough losing Stephen, who was basically out for the whole trip," Roby said. "It was tough because he was our third best singles player and we were playing number one at doubles. People had to be shuffled around, but because we are a good team, we managed."
Two days later, Dartmouth dropped its second spring match to the University of Nevada. Despite wins from Freeman, Ho and Jeff Friedman '10 in singles matches, Dartmouth lost in the doubles matches, winning in only the first spot with Freeman and Laser.
The Big Green did not let the tough loss affect them as they beat the University of California San Diego 6-1 only a day later. Dartmouth won all but one of its singles matches, taking a decisive lead against the Tritons. Freeman and Laser continued their doubles success with a win in the number one spot. Roby won a hard fought match with new partner to secure the team doubles point.
Later in the week, Dartmouth found itself in a situation similar to that of the University of Nevada match, this time facing Loyola Marymount University. Once again, the Big Green tied the singles matches, with straight set wins from Ho and Friedman, and a grueling three set win from Laser. With the doubles matches tied one to one, the final score came down to the last doubles match. After a hard-fought match, the Lions brought an end to Freeman and Laser's win streak and won the match with an 8-6 victory.
The Big Green completed their spring trip losing 7-0 to a competitive UCSB team. Despite the shutout, Dartmouth could have lost by only one if its three three-set matches had swung their way.
"Santa Barbara is a good team," coach Chuck Kinyon said. "They just beat the number 31 team in the country and although it looks like we got creamed, we actually played well. There were some really bright spots in the match."
According to Roby, the spring trip was centered on preparing for Dartmouth's upcoming conference matches. The team is focusing on the positives, such as getting the experience of playing outside rather than indoors, and not allowing the negative aspects like Greif's injury to faze them.
"We might have to play outside at Cornell, so it's a big plus having already played outdoors," Kinyon said. "We have hit a lot of balls over the last 10 days and we are as ready as we are going to be. We are focused on these two matches and we have been training for them all year."
Dartmouth will open conference play next weekend, playing Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., on Friday and Columbia University in New York, N.Y., on Saturday.
