The men’s and women’s tennis teams wrapped up their seasons this weekend with matches against Harvard University. The No. 42 men fell 4-1 on the road against the No. 33 Crimson and finished a historic season with its most League wins since 1997. The women won at home in a dramatic 4-3 win against No. 53 Harvard to cap the season.
The women (8-9, 4-3 Ivy) started with three tightly-contested doubles matches, in which the Big Green narrowly lost the doubles point. Julienne Keong Si Ying ’16 and Suzy Tan ’16 produced Dartmouth’s only double victory with an 8-5 win at the number three spot — the Big Green dropped the other two matches 8-6 and 8-5.
The team then fell into a 2-0 hole as Harvard won the number six singles match in straight sets. Katherine Yau ’16 gave the Big Green its first point of the day with a decisive 6-1, 6-3 victory at the number one position. The Crimson responded with a win against Melissa Matsuoka ’14 at number four, giving the team a 3-1 lead and a chance to put the match away early.
Dartmouth fought back and tied the match up with crucial wins from Taylor Ng ’17 at number two and Akiko Okuda ’15 at number five, 6-2, 6-4 and 6-3, 7-5 respectively.
Jacqueline Crawford ’17 clinched the Big Green’s victory with her 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 win at number three.
“It was also a really sweet victory for Jacqueline,” Sarah Bessen ’16 said. “She had to sit out for about 3 months from injury and has been battling to get back.”
With its dramatic win on senior day, the Dartmouth women’s team finishes the season fourth in the Ivy League.
The Big Green men (18-6, 5-2 Ivy), however, could not overcome a similar early deficit in Cambridge. Harvard took control of the match early with wins at all three doubles positions.
At the number one position, Cameron Ghorbani ’14 and Brendan Tannenbaum ’16, fell 8-3. The disappointing end finished an otherwise stellar season from the Big Green’s number one duo, in which the two were at one point ranked the NCAA’s No. 15 doubles tandem.
Ghorbani attributed the loss to the return game and aggressive play of the Crimson’s number one team.
“They really just came out strong,” he said. “They came out swinging and just handed it to us.”
At the number three spot, Dovydas Sakinis ’16 and Brandon DeBot ’14 fell in a close 8-6 match. DeBot attributed the loss to coming up short on break points.
“They served really well and were really quick,” DeBot said. “There were really only a couple opportunities for us to get breaks, and we didn’t capitalize.”
The Crimson secured its victory with three singles wins. Dartmouth’s lone point came from Sakinis’s 6-4, 6-1 win at the number one spot. Harvard built a precarious 3-1 lead with two matches remaining that provided for tense tennis as the Big Green attempted to say alive. Unfortunately, Ghorbani was overwhelmed by the consistent play of his opponent at the number three position to fall 6-1, 6-4 despite staving off multiple match points.
Head coach Christopher Drake said he would have liked to see more aggressive play.
“We were a little too passive from the beginning,” Drake said. “If we want to beat teams of that level, we have to do a better job of starting off quickly in doubles and setting a tone for how we want to play.”
The loss marks the end of one of the best seasons in Dartmouth men’s tennis history, in which the team earned the highest ITA ranking in program history and finished with the most total wins.
“It was a tough match, but we had a lot of positives this season,” Drake said. “The team’s fight and resilience have been great and the team is moving forward and making progress.”
Drake was particularly impressed with his team’s mental toughness alongside expectations of making the NCAA tournament, he said. With the regular season now over, the team will now focus on the tournament, in which the top 64 teams will play. The selection show for the tournament will be broadcast at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“Whether or not we make it,it says a lot about the national presence we’ve established, and I hope that’s something that carries through the next few years,” DeBot said.
