The men's tennis team successfully ended its fall season this weekend in two tournaments against Northeast opponents. The bulk of the team remained in Hanover to play the Dartmouth Invite in the Alexi Boss Tennis Center, while another Big Green contingent traveled to play at Harvard University's Halloween Invitational in Cambridge, Mass.
At the Dartmouth Invite a tournament consisting of four singles brackets and two doubles brackets the Big Green battled for three days against competitors from Brown University, Cornell University, Princeton University, Amherst College and the United States Military Academy.
Dartmouth appeared nearly invincible on the first day of matches, when the Big Green won five of six singles matches and went undefeated in three doubles matches.
The team struggled in Saturday's matchups, however. Aside from singles players Cameron Ghorbani '14 and co-captain Xander Centenari '13, and the doubles team of Alex de Chatellus '13 and co-captain Michael Laser '12, no Dartmouth players advanced in their tournament draws.
"It was really just a matter of not capitalizing on lots of opportunities to take a decisive advantage in matches," Centenari said. "It happens, but you just hope it doesn't happen too often."
The Big Green rebounded on Sunday, when both Ghorbani and the Laser and De Chatellus pair won their respective singles and doubles titles.
Ghorbani defeated Army sophomore Asika Isoh, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, in the singles finals match. Laser and De Chatellus beat Isoh and sophomore Henry Jang-Milsten, 8-4, in their finals draw.
Ghorbani said he was "very happy" with his performance on Sunday.
"I've always had problems with bad starts," Ghorbani said. "I've worked really hard on just believing in myself and knowing that I can come back in long matches. After going down early to Isoh, I was really happy with how I refocused myself."
Meanwhile, all three Dartmouth players sent to compete at the Harvard Halloween Invitational returned to campus with first-place finishes.
The Big Green doubles pair of Mike Jacobs '13 and John Kelly '14 defeated Brown University in Saturday's first round of play. On Sunday, the duo beat Harvard, 9-8, and later won the finals in a thrilling match against another Harvard pair, 9-7.
On the singles courts, Andrs Isaza '15 won his draw, securing his first collegiate win. Isaza ousted his first-round opponent, Tufts University freshman Matt Pataro, in straight sets on Friday. He then beat Harvard sophomore John Thornton, 6-1, 6-1, and Brown freshman David Neff, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, on Saturday. In the finals on Sunday, Isaza defeated Harvard freshman Brandon Parker in a walkover win.
Isaza, a native of Bogot, Colombia, said he initially needed time to adjust to Dartmouth, but has finally found his comfort zone.
"The language, the food, the lifestyle and the hours of the day are all new to me," Isaza said. "I'm getting comfortable here and I'm slowly getting to my top level of play."
Isaza and his fellow freshmen Chris Kipouras '15 and Sam Todd '15 have already made a big impact on the team, bringing new energy to practices.
"The freshmen have been great to have around this year," Centenari said. "They're great on and off the court and they're all really determined, serious players."
A similar focus will be necessary for the entire Dartmouth squad as it approaches a three-month-long retreat from the tennis courts.
"We've been playing pretty well this fall, but we've all got some aches and bruises from lots of tennis," Ghorbani said. "We're going to take November to get into the gym and get stronger and improve our fitness and endurance, so that when it's time to return to the courts in late January, we'll be fresh."
The Big Green opens winter play at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., on Jan. 27.
