"We play UMass every year and they have consistently been a competitive team," tri-captain Ryan Reichel '11 said. "They always give a big effort and fight until the very last ball. It's always a good team for us to play. We always fight and play to the end, so it's feels good to walk away from a hard-earned win."
The Big Green (5-4) came out strong and handily secured the doubles point.
Melissa Matsuoka '14 and tri-captain Molly Scott '11 decisively won their match, 8-1, in the number one spot against UMass sophomore Chantal Swiszcz and freshman Yuliana Motyl. Jeri Reichel '13 and Christina Danosi '13 also won, 8-1, against senior Kaitlyn Carpenter and freshman Jessica Podlofsky.
Ryan Reichel and tri-captain Georgiana Smyser '11 dropped a close match in the number two position, 8-7, against senior Candynce Boney and senior Tanisha Hodgson. Both pairings faced match points during the matchup.
"We knew we were going to have to compete," Scott said. "UMass never gives up no matter what the score, so we knew we needed to come out strong. It's always nice to win doubles and to get the first point on the board."
The doubles win instilled early confidence in the team, Scott said.
"It really gave us momentum going into singles," she said. "I think it helped people start of stronger knowing that we had one up on them."
Dartmouth continued its strong effort against the Minutemen (6-4) in singles play, although the Big Green was unable to secure a team victory.
Dartmouth and UMass tied, 3-3, in the singles matches.
Scott won her match in the number one spot against Motyl in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Matsuoka defeated sophomore Julia Comas, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0, in the number two spot.
Danosi secured the Big Green's third win, beating Carpenter in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
UMass took advantage of several close matches to create a close overall score.
Ryan Reichel lost her match after soundly winning the first set, falling to Boney, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Smyser also lost in three sets, and Valeriya Tatisheva '14 dropped her match in the number six spot after forcing a tiebreak in the second set.
"I think everyone gave a really big effort in singles play," Ryan Reichel said. "It was a late match in the middle of the week and as a whole, everyone did really well. Everyone was able to put aside the fact that they have drill tomorrow morning or that they have a paper due or another test or quiz. We were all able to just focus on tennis and were able to give great efforts."
Despite the win, Dartmouth will use the match as a learning experience as it prepares for its matches this weekend against Binghamton University and Boston College, Scott said.
"It's encouraging going into the next matches knowing that we won hard-fought matches," she said. "At the same time, we need to work out closing out sets and games. There were several matches and incidents where we were up in a game or set and just couldn't close it out. We need to focus on the big points and make sure we take them in our next matches."
Danosi echoed Scott, adding that the Big Green must improve its execution.
"Mentally, we just need to focus on knowing what you need to do and then doing it," Danosi said. "On the big points, we need to make that final shot and put the last ball away. Basically, it comes down to knowing when to hit your shots."
Dartmouth is in a busy leg of its schedule, playing its fourth match in less than a week. Danosi said this increased playing time has been difficult, as many players are both physically and mentally tired.
Scott said, however, that the match schedule has been an overall positive for the team.
"We just came off playing three matches last weekend and then we played tonight and have two matches this weekend," Scott said. "As far as we are concerned, the more experience we can have under our belt, the better. Nothing is more helpful with preparation that actually getting match experience."
The Big Green plays Binghamton (2-3) on Saturday and Boston College (4-3) on Sunday in Hanover.
The team will then prepare for its spring training trip to southern California, taking a three-week break from match play.
Dartmouth will begin its Ivy League schedule when it returns from the trip, playing Columbia University on April 1. The Big Green will attempt to improve on its 2009-2010 season, when the team won three matches against League opponents.
Dartmouth has rebounded from mixed early-season results, winning two matches last weekend at the ECAC Championships. The team, however, dropped from the top-75 national rankings in the most recent list, released on Feb. 22.
The Big Green was ranked 71st in the nation on Feb. 16 and began its winter season ranked 61st in the country.
