The Dartmouth men's and women's tennis teams competed in two separate tournaments over the weekend, honing their skills in preparation for dual matches later in the season.
The men's tennis team hosted Division III schools Williams College and Middlebury College in the Dartmouth Shootout, giving the Big Green a chance to test itself against two competitive opponents.
Dartmouth rose to its Division I reputation, however, finishing the weekend a combined 13-4 in singles and 5-3 in doubles play. Three Big Green players co-captain Xander Centenari '13, Alexander de Chatellus '13 and Michael Laser '12 finished the weekend with zero defeats.
"Overall, everyone played pretty well," co-captain Chris Ho '12 said. "A lot of the younger guys had a chance to play, which was great. It was a good test because the guys from Middlebury and Williams are Division III, so they were pretty hungry to beat us."
Centenari said both opponents kept the Big Green on its toes.
"I think it went well overall," Centenari said. "It was a good opportunity for us because they put a good sort of pressure on us."
Dartmouth got off to a slow start on Friday, winning only one of three doubles sets against Williams and two of three against Middlebury. Centenari acknowledged that the team was unsatisfied with the first day's outcome.
"Friday we started with doubles and came out a little flat," he said. "We knew that we had to bring a little more energy."
The Big Green returned on Saturday with renewed vigor, dominating its opponents to take victories in eight of 12 singles matches. Its momentum increased on Sunday as Dartmouth swept its matches, winning a combined two doubles and five singles matches against both opponents.
On the women's side, five players represented the Big Green at the 2011 USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Women's College Invitational in Flushing, N.Y.
Rachel Decker-Sadowski '14 and co-captain Shelley Carpeni '12 lost in the first round of F and I singles play, respectively. Several other Dartmouth players Akiko Okuda '15 in C singles, Theresa Smith '15 in D singles and Janet Liu '15 in E singles triumphed in their first matches and proceeded to the quarter-finals.
Decker-Sadowski and Liu also played well in C doubles, defeating their opponents from St. John's University and Columbia University before eventually losing in the semifinals.
Smith and Liu both dispatched their opponents in the quarter-finals but fell in the semis to Yale University sophomore Stephanie Kent and Brown University freshman Laura Wiley, respectively.
Carpeni said Dartmouth was happy with its performance at the Invitational.
"I thought we did pretty well," she said. "We definitely improved from our first tournament at Brown. Generally, our team is starting to learn more about each other what we like and what we don't like and I thought our chemistry this week was great."
The men's team next competes at the ITA Northeast Regional, which begins on Thursday. The women's team next plays at Regionals from Oct. 21-25.
Ho said the Big Green will use the Regional as a way to match up against several Division I teams, including those in the Ivy League.
"There are a lot of really good players that are going to be down there," Ho said. "It's a good gauge, good test to see how we stack up against some of the Ivies."
Carpeni said the women's Regionals tournament similarly acts as a measuring stick.
"I think it's a great tournament," she said. "It's a great way to see where everyone stands."
Both tournaments are opportunities for individual players to refine their skills and learn about their opponents.
"The fall season is a lot about improving," Carpeni said. "We don't play as a team at all so it's a big learning experience. We have a lot of players off, so for those who are around, it's a chance to improve before winter comes around."
Ho said the men's team has placed a large emphasis on conditioning this fall.
"We do a lot of drilling, a lot of sets," Ho said. "Guys are coming in every day thinking of improvement."
He added that the coaching staff has used this season to test out different strategies, including varied sets of doubles pairs.
"In doubles, it seems like [head coach Chris Drake] is trying out a few different combinations of teams to get a feel for how guys are playing in doubles," Ho said. "The fall is great because we don't have any doubles dual matches, so we can get ready for winter and spring, when it really counts."
