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The Dartmouth
July 12, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

ONE-ON-ONE: Curtis Roby '11

I sat down with captain Curtis Roby '11 to talk about a new coach and a new season of Dartmouth tennis.

How has the transition from Chuck Kinyon to your new coach, Chris Drake, been?

CR: The transition has been seamless. Coach Drake has been great so far. He knows how to run practice, how to keep guys in line and he has a great understanding of how to manage our group.

Have there been any major changes to the team in how you guys practice?

CR: Practice has generally been tougher. Drake has implemented morning conditioning sessions, and our lifts have been finely tuned to suit the needs of a tennis player. Drake knows when to push us hard, but he also realizes when it is time to rest and recover.

What's it like having a coach who played both in the Ivy League and professionally relatively recently? Is he on court with you guys a lot?

CR: Coach hits a great ball. Especially in one-on-one sessions, you can see that he is a phenomenal player.

Does he beat you guys?

CR: I'm pretty confident he would take us down.

Who has a more intimidating name: Mike Laser '12 or David Fink '11?

CR: Laser wins the name-game..

Does Laser have a way of intimidating opponents even before stepping on court?

CR: Only if he hasn't shaved within the last two or three hours. His 5 o'clock shadow sends chills through opponents.

You guys have had a couple of results already. Who played well in your first event in New York?

CR: Everyone played well in New York. We won the B doubles flight and finished runner-up in C doubles. Alex de Chatellus '13 and Cameron Ghorbani '14 won their singles flights. We had a ton of quality wins over Ivy League starters.

Can you explain the format of the tournament? Which Dartmouth players did well?

CR: There were a bunch of singles flights, like A singles, B singles, C singles etc. Same format for the doubles except not as many flights obviously. Brandon De Bot '14 did the best. He won the B singles and B doubles flights (played with Ghorbani). I finished third in the A draw. [Stephen] Greif '11 finished third in the C draw.

What are the team's expectations for the upcoming fall season? What kind of progress do you look to make?

CR: The fall is all about improvement. Since it is all individual tournaments, there is no real team competition. But the goal of the fall is to get better with every tournament and build up a solid foundation of match toughness and fitness for the winter and spring. Winter is all non-conference matches (except for the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament, which is all the Ivies), and the spring is the make-or-break point of the season, where we play all the Ivies in team dual matches.

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of this year's team?

CR: Two things that Drake emphasizes are toughness and conditioning. Your game may go up and down over the course of a year, but two things that should remain constant every single match are a high level of fitness and a willingness to compete hard for every point, day in and day out. We have already shown a high level of competitiveness in our two tournaments this fall, and it will only get better with time and practice. We may not have as many all-star names as some of the other Ivies, but we're going to be mentally tougher and physically fitter than them all.

How have the incoming freshmen bolstered the team?

CR: They've been great. No complaints. They work hard, are motivated to do well and gel nicely with the team dynamic.

On the roster, it doesn't list where John Kelly '14 went to high school. Did he even go to high school?

CR: I heard he dropped out after 9th grade. Don't tell the Dean.

How much pride do tennis players take in how hard they can serve?

CR: Not that much. There are a ton of big servers in college tennis, and unfortunately, there are no radar guns like in the pros.

Who has the hardest serve on the team?

CR: That's a toss up between Laser, Greif, and [Kevin] Cox '13.

Who is the cockiest about it?

CR: Out of the three, Cox definitely pats himself on the shoulder about it the most.