For several hours last Saturday, the Boss Tennis Center buzzed with the sound of rallies, line calls and cheers as the Dartmouth men’s tennis team battled through its final invitational of the fall season. By the weekend’s conclusion on Sunday afternoon, the Big Green posted 21 wins to 8 losses, capping a fall season defined by steady improvement and a young roster finding its footing.
The event marked the last competitive action before the team shifts to dual-match season in January, when conference play begins in earnest. With four other schools competing — Boston University, Cornell University, Williams College and Yale University — the weekend provided a crucial gauge of where the Big Green stands heading into the winter.
“I think compared to our first invite we had at the beginning of the fall … we’ve definitely homed in on a lot of things to work on,” co-captain Waleed Qadir ’26 said. “That kind of shows in our results that we’ve had much better day-to-day records in terms of how many we win versus how many we lose.”
According to Malhar Patel ’29, who finished the weekend 2-1 in both doubles and singles, this progression was evident in Saturday’s performance when Dartmouth went 10-3 as a team. He said the strong showing reflected weeks of practice translating to match play.
“Yesterday was a great day for us,” Patel said. “We’ve all been playing very well. The energy level is very high right now.”
For Patel, who has played tennis since age seven, the invite provided valuable experience in collegiate competition. Matches began at 9 a.m. and stretched past 7 p.m., with players rotating through singles and doubles across six courts.
Patel’s doubles partner for the weekend, Calvin Wang ’29, mirrored his solid performance while navigating his first fall season at Dartmouth as a transfer from the University of Texas. Wang finished the weekend 2-1 in both doubles and singles. After a slower start to the fall, Wang said his confidence has been building through match play.
“Personally, I think I kind of came in with a little low confidence and then I think it’s starting to build up,” Wang said.
Wang added that the invites provide opportunities for players to gain confidence through accumulated competitive experience.
“I’m kind of one of those guys that needs matches under my belt to be able to perform at my best,” Wang said. “These invites, the regional tournaments, whatever it may be, always help me.”
The competition was stiffest against Ivy League opponents Yale and Cornell, who the Big Green will see again at the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament in February. According to Qadir, Yale has been a particularly intense rival over his four years on the team.
“Over the last three years, we’ve had very close matches with Yale and they’ve probably been the team we’ve lost close a lot of the times against,” Qadir said. “They’re [on a] very similar level, they’ve just been a little better … I think matches against them are definitely a good benchmark for us.”
Wang, who played Cornell twice over the weekend, lost both matches but said that he saw the value in the competitive experience.
“All the Ivies come together in February for ECACs, so it’s good to see where we stand,” Wang said.
Dartmouth graduated four seniors and brought in four freshmen, creating what Qadir described as “a big transition period” that has left the team much younger overall.
“I think invites like these are important, especially for the ’29s to get more matches and kind of get more experience because that’s something we’re missing compared to last year,” Qadir said. “But it’s exciting to see them grow and progress throughout the fall.”
Playing at home provided an additional boost, with familiar courts and the occasional crowd offering support.
“We have pride to defend our home court,” Patel said. “It’s always special to play here at Boss. It’s a great facility. Everyone loves it.”
The team set a goal of winning 75% of its matches during the fall, a target that Qadir acknowledged was “lofty” given the range of competition levels the squad faced.
Head coach Justin DeSanto noted that the team finished 63-42 in all matches played in singles and doubles. This weekend, DeSanto said, “is much closer to our 75% goal.”
As the team transitions to dual-match season, the focus shifts from accumulating match experience to executing in high-stakes conference play. The Big Green will open with out-of-conference matches in January before heading to California for their spring break trip, then return to play the full Ivy circuit through April and May. The progression Wang described after Saturday’s strong performance, translating practice work into match play, will be essential.
“Yesterday I had a really good day and I was able to put in what I had been working on, which is why I’ve been making a lot more progress,” Wang said.
According to Qadir, for a team that has spent the fall developing chemistry and building experience with a young roster, the goal is clear: carry the momentum forward.
“The progression that we’ve seen this invite is something that we want to keep building on,” Qadir said. “Even in the winter, those first few matches in January, we’re still trying to put things together. We’ll keep trying to build all the things we’re still working on right now.”
