As the weather gets warmer and the winter season winds down, three of Dartmouth's racquet sports teams men's tennis, women's tennis and men's squash are prepared to bring the heat this weekend in tournaments on the East Coast. The Big Green men's tennis team will host the ECAC tournament in Hanover beginning on Friday, while the women's team will also compete in the ECAC tournament at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. The men's squash team will compete in the College Squash Association Championships in Princeton, N.J.
Dartmouth men's tennis (6-0) will host six other Ivy League schools and St. John's University for the three-day ECAC tennis tournament this weekend. The tournament is single elimination, but there is also a consolation bracket, ensuring that each team will play at least three matches.
Because so many Ivy League opponents attend the tournament, this weekend is an important one for the Big Green, according to men's co-captain Michael Laser '12.
"This is definitely, aside from Ivy season, the most anticipated weekend we've had in a long time," Laser said. "It's not a make-or-break weekend, but we can see how far we've come and how we stack up against the competition. The best part about it is that it is at home, so we can play in front of our fans."
Co-captain Chris Ho '12 said that the team must be prepared for anything the competition throws at them.
"It's a really good opportunity we're coming up against a lot of good teams," Ho said. "I think we just need to get out there without too many expectations. We're hoping to get some good matches in, compete hard, but really manage our expectations, as well."
The Big Green men will start off the quarterfinals with a match against Princeton University at 3 p.m. on Friday. The two teams have had a tense, competitive rivalry for the past few years, according to co-captain Xander Centenari '13.
"We've had some history with Princeton," Centenari explained. "We've had two extremely close 4-3 matches these past two years that we've lost, so we're really looking forward to this weekend. If we play well, we really have a chance to win."
Ho added that several Big Green athletes have personal conflicts with individual Tiger players.
"To put it bluntly, we all hate Princeton," Ho said. "I hate Princeton, and I think every guy on the team would say the same. I know me and a few of the guys have some personal rivalries with Princeton, so we're gonna come out there with a lot of fire."
In New Haven, the Dartmouth women's tennis team (2-3) will begin its ECAC tournament with a match against Boston College at 3 p.m. on Friday. The Big Green lost to BC, 6-1, earlier this season, so the team is looking forward to the rematch, according to co-captain Sarah Leonard '13.
"BC is a school that we played in our first match of the season a few weeks ago," Leonard said. "They play hard, and it's a great opportunity to play them again. We're definitely looking to reverse the outcome this time."
Leonard said the team is generally excited to begin competing again after a two-week break.
"We're definitely hoping to get some good, solid wins under our belt and to continue to win the doubles point," she said. "We're really looking forward to competing, putting on the uniform, cheering for our team and seeing who wins the fight."
Also on the road this weekend, the men's squash team will compete in the CSA Championships, the national championships of collegiate squash. Dartmouth earned the seventh seed in the tournament and will play for the Potter Cup in the championship bracket.
The team will face Princeton in its first match on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Last year, the Big Green men's team placed seventh in the championships.
