Coming off a 3-1 spring break trip on the West Coast, the Big Green (15-2, 2-0 Ivy) played its first Ivy League match against Cornell on Friday. Dartmouth captured the early advantage by winning the doubles point.
First doubles duo Molly Scott '11 and Mary Beth Winingham '10 had no trouble handling their opponents and won easily, 8-2. The No. 2 doubles, Sarah Leonard '13 and Carissa King '12, however, suffered a tough loss to Cornell's Sarah O'Neil and Christine Ordway, 9-7.
The point came down to the No. 3 doubles match between Dartmouth's Georgiana Smyser '11 and Jesse Adler '10 and Cornell's Ruxandra Dumitrescu and Susan Sullivan. After a long and drawn-out battle, Smyser and Adler were able to secure the doubles point, winning 9-7.
"The third doubles match was very exciting and great to watch," Leonard said. "It was great that they pulled it out."
Likely riding the momentum created by the doubles matches, the top four Dartmouth singles players dominated their competition. Scott, Leonard, Winingham and Adler all registered straight-set victories, securing the match for the Big Green.
After suffering a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Cornell last season, this year's convincing victory is that much sweeter, Leonard said.
"Our attitude is to treat every match the same," she said. "But against Cornell in our first League match, there is definitely more excitement and more energy. There's something extra on the line."
After a quick turnaround, the Dartmouth women took on Columbia on Saturday. The Big Green got off to a hot start, winning all three doubles matches. Scott and Winingham continued their run at No. 1 doubles, defeating their opponents 8-3.
At No. 2 doubles, Smyser and Adler were successful at the net and controlled the backcourt en route to an 8-1 victory. Third doubles duo Julia Zak '10 and King came back from an early 1-4 deficit, winning the match in a tiebreaker, 8-7.
"[Adler] and I have had some ups and downs playing doubles this season," Smyser said. "Against Columbia, we were in sync and on the same page and played a very solid match."
In singles, No. 4 Adler defeated her opponent in a lopsided match, 6-1, 6-2. Shortly after, No. 2 Leonard finished her day with a straight set win over Columbia's Chelsea Davis, 6-0, 6-1.
"[Leonard] was aggressive and hit the corners," Davis said. "She really hit my backhand corner and got me off my game. At times, I couldn't even keep the ball on the court."
At first singles, Columbia pulled its top player, Nicole Bartnik, and instead sent out Natasha Makarova. Scott was able to best Makarova, 7-5, 6-3.
Winingham handled Katarina Kovacevic at No. 3 singles and won the match, 6-3, 6-3.
Smyser had a tougher time against Diana Shapoval at No. 5.
After winning the first set, 6-3, Smyser found herself down early in the second set. Fortunately for the Big Green, she was able to recover and get back in her groove to claim the second set, 6-4.
"The match was streaky for both of us," Smyser said. "I was happy to hold my last service game, so we didn't have to go to a tiebreaker."
In the longest match of the day, Carley Markovitz '10 battled Columbia's Natalia Christenson, splitting the first two sets, 6-3 and 2-6. In an extended tiebreaker to decide the match, Markovitz held off Christenson and won 10-7, finishing off Dartmouth's sweep.
"It's always hard to play matches back-to-back," Leonard said. "In the back end against Columbia, we tried to beat them from all accounts, physically and mentally, and I think we did that."
Standing at 2-0 in the Ivy League, Dartmouth is considered a legitimate contender for the Ivy League title.
"We have two wins in the Ivy League," Smyser said. "Time to get five more."
The Dartmouth women will look to improve to 4-0 in league play when they travel to Philadelphia, Pa., and Princeton, N.J., this weekend to take on the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
