Three freshmen started the season off right for the Big Green on day one by winning their singles matches. In B Flight action, Jesse Adler '10 defeated Maria Vasilyeva of Syracuse 6-4, 6-1 and Mary Beth Winingham '10 topped Lauren Hommel of Kansas in a very tough match. Meanwhile, Carley Markovitz '10 dominated her opponent 6-2, 6-1 in C Flight action.
"It was really exciting to see three freshmen [show] mental strength under the pressure of the opening match," captain Lindsay Winingham '07 said.
Both Winingham and co-captain Kerry Snow '07 played well in A flight losses to opponents from Indiana, a team that ranked No. 44 in the nation last season. Pre-season conditioning and mental toughness again paid off for several Dartmouth freshman singles players on day two of the tournament. After dropping a tough quarterfinal match, Adler picked up her second win by dominating Kuni Dorn of Kansas in straight sets. Mary Beth Winingham also picked up her second win before losing a tough match in the quarterfinals.
Jen Murray '09 relied on a mental and conditioning edge gained from a summer cross country cycling trip to pick up a win by outlasting Brittany Stewart of East Tennessee State in three sets.
Both the Dartmouth B flight doubles teams of Mary Beth Winingham/Snow and Jamie Caplan '07/Danielle Murray '09 also emerged victorious. The Murray/Caplan match was especially impressive because the girls erased a 6-1 deficit against a tough East Tennessee State team.
Both the captains and coaches have high hopes about the team's potential in the future. Lindsay Winingham cited great team spirit and cohesion throughout the trip as evidence that Dartmouth women's tennis is in for a breakout season.
Team spirit "definitely makes you want to come out and compete harder when the person cheering behind you is really pulling for you as well," Lindsay Winingham said after the second day's matches. The women's tennis team competed in the final day of the Deacon classic on Sunday, but matches ended too late for this issue. The squad will next travel to New York City for the USTA Billy Jean King National Tennis Center's Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 7-9.
