Senior Jeff Sloves's run in the Dartmouth Invitational finally came to an end yesterday morning, as he fell in the finals to his opponent from Rutgers, Akshay Jagdale, at the Alexis Boss Tennis Center.
Jagdale won the singles title in the A-draw in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
"In the finals, I competed well, just like the other matches, but I was incredibly sore from the other rounds," Sloves said. "I was in battles from the very first round while he seemed to breeze through his side of the draw. He is certainly a great player, and I congratulate him."
Sloves is the only Dartmouth player to reach the finals in the two years that the Dartmouth Invitational has been held.
Despite a first-round bye, Sloves' path through the tournament was not an easy one. All three of his matches prior to the finals went three sets, including a tight semifinal match against Jagdale's teammate, Kevin Bielen. Sloves took the first set of that match in a tiebreak, but then faltered in the second set to lose 2-6. Sloves recovered and battled back to capture another close set, 7-5, to earn a berth in the finals.
The tournament was an overall success for the rest of Big Green, too. Dartmouth's Chris Gonyer '05 and David Webb '05 both joined Sloves in advancing to the quarterfinals but could not make it any further.
"I was really happy that we placed three players in the quarters," Sloves said. "It shows the significant improvement in the depth of our team."
The Dartmouth Invitational marks the end of the fall season for the Big Green. Dartmouth will open up its winter schedule at the Harvard Winter Invitational on Jan. 25.
