The fifth-seeded Dartmouth men (7-1) upset No. 4 seed Princeton University on Friday in a display of athleticism and poise. The Big Green secured the doubles point with wins by the No. 1 doubles team of Michael Laser '12 and Alex de Chatellus '13 and by the No. 2 doubles team of Brandon DeBot '14 and Cameron Ghorbani '14. The Big Green went on to defeat Princeton (3-5), 4-2, in the match.
Dartmouth had been focusing on the tournament throughout the Fall and Winter terms.
"We've been preparing [for ECACs] since the beginning of September," co-captain Chris Ho '12 said. "We've been training really hard, and it's mainly our preparation and our hard work since the beginning of the season that were key to upsetting Princeton."
The home-court advantage was also a factor in the Big Green's success on Friday, according to Ho.
"The crowd that came out was unbelievable," Ho said. "It was amazing to see that much support at Boss, and it makes a huge difference when you can hear the crowd and feel the energy."
Following the victory on Friday night, the Big Green faced Harvard University on Saturday. Although Harvard entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, the Big Green felt confident heading into the match.
"Even though Harvard is the top seed, and on paper the best team in the Ivies, we know we are as tough or tougher and have been working harder," co-captain Michael Laser '12 said. "With that preparation and hard work comes confidence."
Dartmouth lost all three doubles matches to start the match down a point against Harvard (9-1). The Big Green claimed No. 2 singles with a win by Laser and earned a second point with a No. 3 singles win by Ghorbani. However, the Big Green dropped the match 4-2, marking its first loss of the season.
With the loss on Saturday, the Big Green moved on to play Cornell University for third place on Sunday. In order to save time, the teams played the singles matches first, with the doubles matches to be played only if necessary. With victories at No. 2, 4, 5 and 6, Dartmouth won the match, 4-2, clinching third place in the tournament.
Reflecting on their matches this weekend, team members said they are focused on improving as they head into the rest of their season.
"We're focused on the task at hand," Laser said. "We just want to play our game, come out with a lot of energy, and play point to point as well and as hard as we can."
The Big Green women also competed in the ECAC Championships over the weekend, traveling to New Haven for the competition. Seeded fifth in the championship, Dartmouth (3-4) faced No. 4 seed Boston College in its first round match,on Friday. Dropping the doubles point to start off the match, the Big Green failed to secure a singles win and lost the match 7-0. However, the Big Green did not go down without a fight, as three singles matches went into third sets, with two decided by third set super tiebreakers a tiebreaker in which the first player to win 10 points wins the match.
"Three-set matches are really good experiences," co-captain Sarah Leonard '13 said. "You start the third set completely even in the match, and whether you win or lose, you can walk away knowing you left it all out on the court and competed your hardest."
After its Friday night loss, Dartmouth faced Fairleigh Dickinson University on Saturday. After dropping the doubles point on Friday against BC, the Big Green aimed to secure the first point of the match against FDU.
"Our first objective is to win the doubles point to have really good position going into singles," co-captain Shelley Carpeni '12 said. "[Winning the doubles point] is something we haven't been able to do, so we need to try to get momentum going our way [from the beginning]."
Dartmouth failed to secure the doubles point on Saturday, but still defeated FDU, 5-2, with strong performances from its individuals. Akiko Okuda '15, stepping in to play No. 1 singles for a sick teammate, secured her match in a two-set win. Dartmouth also claimed four of the five other singles matches, with Jeri Reichel '13 taking the No. 5 singles match in three sets.
"After Friday's loss, we wanted to turn some of the matches around," Leonard said. "We were really focused on capitalizing on opportunities, bringing good energy, and really fighting our hardest."
Following the win against FDU, the Big Green faced Columbia University on Sunday, falling 4-2 to finish sixth in the tournament.
"We [were] really looking to break down Columbia with our consistency, our will and our composed spirit," Leonard said. "We [wanted] to come out just as fresh as we did on the first day."
The Big Green women will next be in action when the team hosts the University of Akron on Friday. The Dartmouth men will return to the court on March 3 against Binghamton University.
