After an up-and-down start to the season and a week-long hiatus from playing matches, the Dartmouth women's tennis team suffered a letdown and fell to Boston University on Wednesday, 4-3.
The 61st-ranked Big Green (1-3) played Boston University (3-2) in a traditionally difficult matchup, faltering against the Terriers.
"We go back and forth with them," Carissa King '12 said. "We were coming into the match expecting a tough one."
Slippery playing conditions added an extra layer of difficulty, according to King.
"Coach was telling us about how it's a test for us," she said. "People just buckled down."
Although Molly Scott '11, the Big Green's top player, fell to Boston University Wednesday, head coach Bob Dallis stressed her recent effort on and off the court.
"Our strength was definitely people's willpower," she said.
Because Dartmouth and Boston University have played several times in recent years, the teams' players are familiar with each other, Dallis said.
Dartmouth and Boston University faced off before at the Big Green Invitational in November and Dartmouth won, 3-2 in singles and 3-1 in doubles.
The early season match served as a confidence-booster and revealed where the team had room to improve, according to Sarah Leonard '13.
"The top-half of our singles line-up came through for us," Georgiana Smyser '11 said of the November win.
The Big Green had an extra week of practice after its performance in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Kickoff Weekend last month, and attempted to use the time to regroup.
"Something we've been doing as a team has been coming up with goals for each week," King said. "So everyone has individual things they've been working on and it's been really focused, which is nice."
The Big Green will return to action on Friday to play Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Virginia Tech plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which hosts a number of other top tennis programs including Clemson University, who beat Dartmouth, 7-0, on Jan. 29.
"Virginia Tech is going to be tough," King said. "We definitely can compete with them, but it's definitely something we're going to need to buckle down on."
Dallis said he hopes team members will continue to apply what they have worked on recently in practice, noting that the Big Green must concentrate on winning each point and not losing focus during any sections of play.
"Virginia Tech is another very solid team," Dallis said. "We're used to seeing them in regional tournaments a lot so there should be good, hard-fought matches."
The Big Green hopes to use the challenge as a learning experience, valuing the opportunity to play a difficult opponent.
"It's fun to play matches like these where you know you're going to have a good, hard-fought match," Dallis said. "Whichever team plays better that day will win. It's not as much of a challenge going into a match that you know you're going to win."
Echoing Dallis, Smyser said she is eager to play against a competitive team.
"It will be an exciting challenge and something we look forward to since we generally stick to a similar schedule every year," she said.
Although matches against Virginia Tech and Boston University have no direct influence on the team's Ivy League success, the matches will set a tone for the rest of the Big Green season, Leonard said.
"The style of play, mental toughness, and competitive spirit we exhibit on the court will undoubtedly carry over to our [League] season this spring," she said.
After completing the non-conference set, the Big Green will travel to Princeton, N.J., to play in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Winter Championship, where several League teams will compete.
The team will begin conference play in April, facing off against Columbia University.
