The Big Green dominated Rutgers in virtually every match, but against the more competitive Cornell and St. John's squads, the team couldn't seem to find a way to fire on all cylinders. The doubles teams played well against the Big Red, but couldn't handle St. John's. The singles players, on the other hand, endured a thrashing against Cornell, but came up big later in the weekend.
The Big Green took on Cornell on the first day of the tourney. While Dartmouth earned the doubles point, it took a pair of matches that came down to tiebreakers to win it. The No. 1 doubles team of David Waslen '07 and Daniel Freeman '10 ground out a gutsy 9-8 (7-5) win, while Steve McGaughey '07 and Ari Gayer '09 teamed up at No. 3 doubles, winning a tiebreaker after overcoming a 5-6 deficit.
The Cornell singles roster proved too strong for the Big Green, however. Led by three seniors at the top, the Big Red won all six matches en route to a 6-1 victory.
Dartmouth recovered from its loss by decimating Rutgers 7-0 the next day. Dartmouth players controlled all matches, including several easy wins by singles players. The 6-0, 6-2 win by Freeman at the No. 3 spot and the 6-1, 6-1 victory of Justin Tzou '10 at the No. 4 spot were particularly dominant. Jeff Schectman '08 won easily after his opponent retired a game into the second set, and Jeff Friedman '10 also earned a point for the Big Green.
Waslen had to work a bit harder for his win. Playing at No. 1, he snatched the first set 7-5 before rolling to a 6-1 second set victory.
The Big Green saved plenty of excitement for the last day of tournament play. The team engineered a 5-2, come-from-behind victory against a talented St. John's team that made the ride home a lot more pleasant.
The situation looked bleak for the Big Green after both the one and two doubles teams lost in well-played matches.
Despite winning a dominant first set against St. John's No. 1 singles player Louis Desmonteaux, who is ranked fourth in the region, Waslen was not able to hold on for the win. However, Dartmouth finished the day with five consecutive singles wins to complete the comeback.
"It was his best match of the year," head coach Charles Kinyon said, describing Schectman's win at the No. 2 spot that helped spur the team to victory.
Schectman fought back from a 4-6 first set loss, clinching the match on the back of a 6-4 victory in the third set.
A "new, 'must win' attitude" that "will carry over into our next team matches," according to Waslen, was responsible for the team's turnaround this past weekend.
The Big Green's team matches are done for the term, but individual action will continue. The team will host the Ivy Invitational in Hanover on Nov. 4-6.
