"I was happy with how I played," Scott said. "I think I got mentally tougher, and I'm able to compete and grind out matches when I'm not playing my best tennis."
The trip got off to a good start when the Big Green swept Utah State 7-0 in a lopsided contest. After winning the doubles point, Dartmouth reeled off six straight singles victories and claimed the match.
Carley Markovitz '10 was the only player taken to a third set. After dropping the first set 7-6 and then breezing through the second set 6-0, she went on to win the match in a game-time tiebreaker.
Up next for the Big Green was Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. In doubles action, No. 1 doubles teammates Scott and Mary Beth Winingham '10 lost just their second match of the season to the Mustangs' Brittany Blalock and Suzie Matzenauer, 8-5. At No. 3 doubles, Georgiana Smyser '11 and co-captain Jesse Adler '10 took their match to a tiebreaker before falling, 9-8.
Scott took revenge against Blalock in their singles match, however, notching an impressive three-set victory.
Besides Scott, Smyser and Adler had the strongest showings in singles. Adler lost two sets in tiebreakers, while Smyser lost her match in three hard-fought sets. The Big Green dropped the match by a score of 6-1.
"It was disappointing," Adler said. "The match was much closer than the score showed. We had a lot of opportunities but couldn't convert them."
The Dartmouth women rebounded quickly to take on No. 75 UCSB two days later. Led by its top three singles players Scott, Winingham and Sarah Leonard '13, and the strong play of the doubles pairs, the Big Green squeezed out a tough 4-3 victory.
Going up against Gaucho sophomore Jordan Dockendorf, Winingham won the first set 7-5. In a very close second set, Winingham and Dockendorf battled all the way down to the last point. Winingham earned the victory after an 11-9 win in the tiebreaker.
"UCSB was a huge victory for us, especially since it was outdoors," Adler said. "We had to get used to the elements like the wind and the sun, while our opponents had been playing tennis outside all along."
On the last stop of its West Coast voyage, the Big Green defeated Cal State Northridge, 5-2, despite losing the doubles point. Scott, Leonard, Winingham, Adler and Ryan Reichel '11 all registered singles victories to give the team its third win of the trip.
Reichel's match against the Matadors' Maria Pistalu was especially exciting, as the two players exchanged tiebreaker wins in the first two sets. In the final set, Reichel was able to outlast Pistalu in a match of attrition by a score of 7-5.
Winingham also won her match in thrilling fashion, defeating Whitney Paluch in three sets, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
"All of the teams we played were tough," Adler said. "But everyone on our team feels match ready technique-wise, and we can grind out matches."
Overall, the 3-1 road trip was an improvement for the Big Green, which went 1-3 on the same trip last year. The results were particularly impressive considering these were the first outdoor matches the team had played all season.
"It was good to be able to focus just on tennis," Adler said. "We got 10 days to just play tennis and work on things."
The West Coast trip also serves as good preparation for the team's upcoming Ivy League season. Starting this weekend, the Big Green will play all seven teams in the Ancient Eight in a 19-day span.
Last year the team was 2-5 in spring Ivy League play. The women, however, believe they are very well prepared this year and are excited to get into the League matches.
"The trip is really good for our preparation," Scott said. "The best way to practice is to play, and we played tough matches all through break."
The Dartmouth women will kick off their Ivy schedule in Hanover this weekend, taking on Cornell University on Friday at 3 p.m. and Columbia University on Saturday at 12 p.m.
If last year is any indication, the weekend should include exciting matches. Last year the Big Green lost to Cornell 4-3 but defeated Columbia with a decisive 6-1 victory.
