The highlights from the men's matches against Yale came at the top of the board. At No. 1, Chris Hanson '13 topped junior Kenneth Chan in four games. Hanson soundly won the first, 11-4, but Chan equalized and took the second, 7-11. The two were neck and neck in the third until Hanson pulled away late to earn his second game, 12-10. The match was decided with an 11-8 Hanson victory in the fourth game.
Nick Sisodia '12 beat his opponent, junior Richard Dodd, in similar fashion in the No. 2 match. Sisodia took the first game, 11-9, was edged out 10-12 in the second and rallied back to win the third, 11-7, and fourth, 11-5.
Luke Lee '12 and senior John Roberts battled it out for five games at No. 3. Lee opened the match with a win in the first game before Roberts rebounded to take the next two, 8-11, 7-11. Lee forced the match into a fifth game with his 11-7 success in the fourth, but was eventually beaten 6-11 in the fifth for the match.
Alex Kurth '13 tallied the third victory for the team, taking down freshman Joseph Roberts at No. 8, 11-3, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9. Robbie Maycock '13, Stephen Wetherill '12 and Bayard Kuensell '15 each won one game off their opponents but nothing more, as all fell in four games.
The late afternoon match against Middlebury marked the final home match for seniors Wetherill, Brian O'Toole '12 and Jack Barrett '12. The trio went out in fine style, as Dartmouth won seven matches in the minimum three games, resulting in a blowout win for the Big Green.
Barrett is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
Hanson, Sisodia and Chris Jung '14 easily handled their opponents in the No. 1, 2 and 4 matches. Lee was the lone member of the Big Green team to drop his match as he struggled to oust sophomore Parker Hurst at No. 3, losing 5-11, 9-11. 7-11.
Despite winning in straight games, Wetherill did not have an easy final home match. The first game went into extra points to decide the winner before Wetherill pulled ahead enough to take the game, 12-10. He sealed the second game, 11-9, after sophomore Cooper Redpath hit the ball into the tin the bottom part of the wall. In the third game, Wetherill forced Redpath into an error for the match-winning point, claiming the final game, 11-8.
Fletcher Pease '14 defeated sophomore Will Moore in three games at No. 6, but the final points of the third game became an intense fight for both players. Pease took a 2-0 lead in the third, and after a series of back-and-forth rallies deep in the backcourt and slices against the left rail, Pease earned his ninth point of the game from the back right corner of the court. Both players hit the tin and hit winners to knot the score at 12-12. Moore, struggling to return Pease's shots, hit the tin twice to end the game, 14-12.
Kuensell played the only five-gamer on the men's side against Middlebury and triumphed over senior Addison DiSesa, 12-10, in the fifth. Kuensell won the first game, 11-5, dropped the second, 4-11 and retook the lead in the third, 11-7, before letting DiSesa tie up the match in the fourth, 8-11.
O'Toole dominated freshman Reed Palmer, allowing only 13 points spread across the three games. The veteran O'Toole used an array of drop shots and kills to keep the rookie out of the match. The first game ended with a shot from the back left that bounced twice in the front right part of the court before Palmer could get to it. The second game was won off an unreturnable forehand slam, while the match ended with a winner down the right rail.
The women's team struggled against Yale as the Bulldogs won all nine matches, with only two lasting longer than three games. Sarah Loucks '13 and Melina Turk '14 saw the most success against the Bulldogs for the Big Green. At No. 3, Loucks came out and managed to take the opening game from senior Rhetta Nadas 11-7 before Nadas regained control and won the next three games 11-4, 11-5, 11-4.
Turk played a closer match against senior Alexandra Van Arkel at No. 4. Turk just missed out in the first and third games, losing both, 11-9. She pulled out an important win in the second, 13-11, but was unable to retie the score in the fourth and lost, 7-11.
The second round of matches against Middlebury produced longer matches and more success for Dartmouth. In the most exciting match of the afternoon, Corey Schafer '13 ousted senior Elena Laird in five tight games for the win at No. 1. Despite many brilliant winners, Schafer was unable to hold the lead in the first game and lost, 7-11. In subsequent games, Schafer aced her opponent, made fewer mistakes and continued to put points away with winners. She took the second game, 11-9, with a shot that ricocheted from the sidewall to the front, resulting in an unreachable return for Laird.
With the match now tied, Schafer came out ready to play in the third and won the grueling game, 12-10. Laird would not go down without a fight and battled back to take the fourth game, 11-7. With teammates, friends and students cheering her on, Schafer prevailed in the fifth, 12-10, in the longest match of the day.
Schafer explained how the team deals with back-to-back matches on the same day.
"It is very physical, but it is how our schedule works," Schafer said. "We have to focus in on two different matches. You have to put the first one behind you and then treat the second one as a whole separate thing. We do the exact same warm-up and routine twice."
Schafer credited Dartmouth coach Hansi Wiens for preparing them for what to do in five-game matches.
"We worked this week in practice on closing out games and closing out matches," Schafer said. "Since we've practiced how to close it out, it helps mentally to take off some of the pressure in the real match. This will be important in the championship part of our season coming up."
Schafer said she believes it is best to play consistently throughout the entirety of the match.
"I tried not to change anything for the last few points," Schafer said. "I stuck with the game plan because it worked for the first part of the game. I just kept doing what was working."
Loucks, Turk, Becky Lau '13, Katherine Nimmo '14, Julia Watson '12 and Helena Darling '15 all won their matches in four games against the Panthers, while Kensy Balch '14 won her match in three straight games.
Watson ended the last home match of her career with a perfectly-executed slice that junior Lindsay Becker was unable to reach. Watson went out decisively, winning her last two games, 11-3, 11-1.
The men's and women's teams ended the regular season with identical 8-1 victories at Brown University on Sunday.
With the Ivy portion of its season now complete, men's co-captain O'Toole reflected on the team's success in the league.
"It's been a good year I think," O'Toole said. "We played a lot closer than in the past against teams like Princeton [University] and Yale. Even if the results are almost the same from last year, the matches were tighter and we played much better."
Wiens echoed O'Toole's thoughts and said he feels both the men and women have improved significantly since last season and had real chances against top teams.
Looking back on his four years on the team, O'Toole believes the program has become more competitive.
"The level of competition has jumped up a lot in four years," O'Toole said. "We were just talking about how our team this year would kill our freshman year's team. People are taking it more seriously and trying to get the program to the next level. What hasn't changed in four years, though, is how close we are as a team and how much fun we have together."
Wiens said he respects the group of seniors that will be graduating in June and thanked them for their hard work and dedication to the program.
"When I came in three years ago, the team was talented, but they didn't work hard enough," Wiens said. "The captains have been great communicators and stood up for what they believe. They worked harder and harder year after year and because of it are great college squash players now."
