The Dartmouth men's tennis team secured a 6-1 win in its last home match of the season against Brown University on Sunday at Boss Tennis Center.
The Big Green's (11-10, 2-4 Ivy) victory honored seniors Dan Freeman '10 and co-captain Jeff Friedman '10, as well as head coach Chuck Kinyon, who will be retiring at the end of this season after 30 years of coaching at Dartmouth.
The Dartmouth team came out strong, sweeping the doubles competition. Michael Laser '12 and Freeman who was competing for the last time at home secured the first win, 8-2, in the No. 1 spot. Playing at the No. 2 spot, co-captain Curtis Roby '11 and Stephen Greif '11 followed with an 8-4 victory. Chris Ho '12 and Alexander de Chatellus '13 completed the sweep, coming from behind to finish 8-6 in the No. 3 spot.
"The guys were really energized," Kinyon said. "They came out and performed great. They did not feel any pressure. I told them to play as well as you can, and they did. They played to their potential and it was too much for the Brownies."
The momentum from the doubles matches carried over to help Dartmouth get off to an early lead in the singles matches. Five of the six Big Green players won their first set, all going on to win their matches in straight sets.
Subsequent wins from Freeman, Laser, Roby, Ho and Alexander Centenari '13 buried the Bears (10-15, 0-6 Ivy) and finished off the match.
"It was terrific to win, especially because the match was so emotional," Kinyon said. "A lot of people showed up, friends and community members, people from Boston, people from Providence. I got all choked up at the end of the match when I had to talk to the crowd. It was great. If I had to finish with a team, this is one to finish with. They have so much heart, they work hard, they love to play and they are proud of wearing the green."
Despite the celebration and success on Sunday, the Big Green's weekend began on Friday with a 5-2 loss to Yale University (15-8, 4-2 Ivy) in New Haven, Conn.
In doubles play, Roby and Greif pulled out a close 8-7 win in the No. 2 spot, but it would not be enough to capture the doubles point, with Dartmouth suffering tough losses in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots.
Singles play did not prove to be much better, as the top four Big Green competitors fell in straight sets to a competitive Bulldog side, which included three powerful freshmen. The end of the Dartmouth lineup put points on the board, however, avoiding the shutout. Both Roby and Centenari beat their opponents in straight sets in the No. 5 and 6 spots, respectively.
"We lost to Yale on the road, but we competed very well," Freeman said. "We actually played very well as a team, and had a few points gone our way we very easily could have stolen the match. Home court actually makes a pretty big difference in these matches. Although we lost on Friday, we actually came into the match today (against Brown) with a very decent amount of momentum, which showed."
The Big Green will conclude its season on Wednesday against long-time rival Harvard University. The match will mark the end of Kinyon's 30-year coaching career at Dartmouth.
"Right now we are 2-4 in the Ivy League," Friedman said. "It's the most Ivy wins that we have won in a long time. We have had a good season, but we really want to beat Harvard. They are always at the top of the standings and are a tennis powerhouse in the Ivy League. It's not often that we have the opportunity to beat Harvard, but this year we have a team that could do it. It would be the perfect way to end this season."
The match is scheduled for Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Cambridge, Mass.
