"I knew this would be a tough match," Fletcher Pease '14 said. "They are a team that we need to beat to stay in the top eight, so I wanted to make sure I was really fired up for the match and that I played at my best."
The first three matches of the contest were played by the team's ninth, sixth and third-ranked players: Mark Funk '15, Michael Mistras '15 and Chris Jung '14, respectively. The Big Green was off to a tough start early when they dropped three out of their first four matches. Jung won his first game 11-8, but ended up losing 3-1 overall. Robbie Maycock '13 also lost 3-0 on center court. When Mistras lost a grinder of a match, the team found themselves in an early deficit.
The bottom of the lineup played a huge role for Dartmouth, as the number seven, eight and nine players all won their matches. Funk won the team's first match of the day, putting a much-needed charge into his teammates. Number eight Pease kept the team rolling with a dominating 3-0 performance.
"I think preparation was really key," Pease said. "I was ready when the match started, and I was able to execute my game plan and take the match 3-0."
The real turning point of the contest was the match of sixth-ranked Kyle Martino '16. The team was trailing 3-2 when Martino arrived at his fifth game. He was down to his last point at 10-8 when he made an epic comeback to win the final game at 15-13, taking home the match win.
"I had lost my last two matches and I didn't want to let the team down," Martino said. "I was just thinking that I needed to fight my heart out for the team because I was just dead at the end and I just wanted to do it for them."
Although Martino was unhappy with an uncalled foul that would have won him the game a few points earlier, he did not break concentration and battled his way to a match victory. The crowd erupted when he completed the improbable victory in what had been a grueling match.
"I was telling myself not to make any mistakes, to stay in the point and, when I got my shot, to do something smart with it," Martino said.
The team's number one player, captain Chris Hanson '13, cruised to a 3-0 victory in his match. Hanson controlled the T early and often as he won his games 11-7, 11-2 and 11-7. Hanson won his first game on a beautiful drop shot to the front left corner of the court, and then took the match on another drop shot that even his diving opponent could not touch.
"I have been training hard and I rested up the past two days for this match so I came out ready to win and got the job done," Hanson said.
Seventh on the team, Alex Kurth '13 sealed the Big Green's win when he took his match 3-1, giving the team their necessary fifth victory of the night. Alexander Greer '16 strengthened the victory when he won 3-0 in the last match of the day to put the final score at 6-3.
With last night's home win behind them, the team looks toward nationals in New Haven, Conn. on Feb. 22. The team has two regular season games remaining before dueling for the national title.
"I want to stay in a very positive mindset," Pease said. "We feel that we have put in the work in practice and we all have the technical and physical strengths that we need to go far."
Hanson said he wants to not only to excel in the team portion of national championships, but also the individual section of the tournament.
"We get two weeks until the national championship, so we will probably do some good hard training after this weekend and then rest up the week after to get ready," Hanson said.
The team looks to continue its momentum this weekend and hopefully peak in the playoffs. They will play their final two matches of the season against Yale University on Friday and Brown University on Sunday.
The team will then play in the men's College Squash Association national team championship Feb. 22-24, as well as the individual championship held March 1-3.
