After falling to the Bulldogs (15-6, 4-2 Ivy), 4-0, in the ECAC Indoor Championships final in February, the Big Green (16-5, 3-3 Ivy) tried to avenge the early-season loss with a conference victory. Dartmouth got off to a disappointing start, however, when all three of its doubles pairings dropped their respective matches.
First doubles duo Molly Scott '11 and Mary Beth Winingham '10, who recently moved up to No. 34 in the national rankings, was defeated by Yale's Vicky Brook and Lindsay Clark, 9-7. It was only the third loss for Scott and Winingham this season two of which have come against Brook and Clark.
At second doubles, Sarah Leonard '13 and Carissa King '12 lost in a tiebreaker by a score of 9-8, while Georgiana Smyser '11 and Jesse Adler '10 dropped their third doubles match by a margin of 8-4.
"In doubles, we had some opportunities, especially at first and second doubles, to really get this point," head coach Robert Dallis said. "We had our chances."
The Dartmouth singles lineup started strong against its opponents. Leonard, Adler and Carley Markovitz '10 all registered quick first-set victories. Only Leonard, however, was able to win another set against her opponent, Stephanie Kent.
"[Kent] played both sides very well, so I had to figure out my game," Leonard said. "I hit hard on both corners and came into the net to take the ball out of midair."
Adler dropped the second and third sets by scores of 6-3 and 6-3, while Markovitz lost her last two sets 6-4 and 6-1.
"Yale is a very tough team," Leonard said. "They don't give you any easy points."
In a fast-paced match at first singles, Scott and Brook put on a show for the fans at the Boss Tennis Center. After dropping the first set, 6-2, Scott battled Brook into a tiebreaker in the second set.
Scott, however, was unable to overcome Brook's solid all-court game, including a signature drop shot, and lost the tiebreaker by a score of 7-3.
In another tough match, Winingham was shut out by opponent Jessica Rhee in the first set, 6-0. Winingham bounced back to even the match with a 6-3 win in the second set, but Rhee proved to be too much for Winingham to handle with a 6-4 third-set victory.
"In tennis, there are always a couple of key points in every match that can change the outcome of the match," Dallis said. "Yale was able to take advantage of these crucial junctures in today's matches."
Two days later, the Big Green women looked to rebound against Brown (16-7, 4-2 Ivy). To start the match, first doubles Scott and Winingham got back on track with an impressive 8-7 victory over Brown's Bianca Aboubakare and Cassandra Herzberg.
The other two Dartmouth doubles pairs, however, did not fare as well. King and Leonard dropped their No. 2 doubles match 8-4, while Adler and Smyser came up just short in an almost miraculous comeback from down 7-2, eventually losing the match 8-6.
In singles, Scott got Dartmouth on the board with a quick straight-set victory with scores of 6-2 and 6-0. The matches at No. 2, 3 and 4 singles were much tougher, however, as all three matches went into three sets.
Leonard could not hold on after winning the first set 7-5, losing the match in three sets. Adler won her first set in a tiebreaker, but also could not hold on for the win. Winingham repeated her performance from Friday by battling back from a first-set loss, only to see the match slip away in the third set.
After the overall match had already been decided, Smyser added a point to the Dartmouth tally with a three-set victory at No. 5 singles. Rounding out the singles lineup, Markovitz dropped her match at No. 6.
The loss to Brown is especially disappointing, since the Big Green beat the Bears in the ECAC Indoor Championships in February.
"This is how tennis is," Dallis said. "There is a very fine line between winning and losing."
The Big Green women will close out their season against Harvard at home on Wednesday.
