Dartmouth tennis hopes to secure more Ivy League wins after some recent defeats. The men's team played at home in Hanover against Columbia University this past Saturday and against Cornell University the following day at Dartmouth's Thompson Outdoor Courts. The women's team traveled to New York to face both Columbia and Cornell away.
Taking on No. 11 Columbia, the men’s team battled hard against the Lions but landed a 5-2 defeat. Henry Ren ’26 and Miles Groom ’26 secured the two points for the Big Green with their successful singles performances. Dartmouth was unable to gain momentum in the team's doubles matches, although Waleed Qadir ’26 and Groom had a 5-4 advantage in their match before play ended.
Women’s tennis faced a tough loss against Columbia at the Milstein Family Center in New York, New York, on Saturday. Unable to score any points, the Big Green fell 4-0 to the Lions. At No. 2 doubles, Emily Zhou ’23 and Lexi Dewire ’24 competed in a close match. The pair built momentum as they were one game down from the Lions, but match play halted at 4-3.
On Sunday, the women competed against Cornell at the Reis Tennis Center in Ithaca, New York. Despite the team’s 4-1 loss, Brooke Hess ’26 and Katie Weber ’24 earned a win at No. 2 doubles and Ujvala Jupalli ’25 won her No. 4 singles match. The men also lost 4-1 to Cornell in Hanover, but Alejandro Quiles ’23 and Alex Knox-Jones ’25 secured a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles and Ren won his No. 2 singles match.
While the men’s team hopes to overcome their losing streak, the women’s team is looking to secure their first Ivy win of the season.
Looking back on Ivy League play, the men's and women's tennis teams competed against Brown University and Yale University earlier this season. The men's team was victorious over Brown with a 5-2 result and their first Ivy League win. The women's team was defeated in a tough match against the Bears, losing 4-1. Despite the men’s momentum, both Big Green teams fell to Yale University.
As the men competed away at the Pizzitola Sports Center, No. 3 doubles Carlos Guerrero Alvarez ’25 and Henry Ren ’26 won a tight breaker to earn the doubles point with four impressive singles victories to solidify the win.
Head coach of the men's team Xander Centenari said he recognizes the work that went into securing the conference victory against Brown.
"We have done a great job playing each match, one match at a time,” Centenari said. “Going into the Ivy season, I think we had a couple of tough close losses, and to be able to get the win at Brown was really positive for us."
This win marked the Big Green’s 12th straight win over Brown since 2014. Following their success against the Bears, the men's team then suffered a 7-0 loss to Yale as they were unable to pick up any points in both singles and doubles.
Alex Knox-Jones ’25 spoke about how the loss against Yale led the team to learn and grow.
"I think we are able to kind of fight back in matches a bit better now,” Knox-Jones said. “We went down in the first few sets, and we were able to come back. I feel like earlier in the year we didn't do that quite as well."
The women's team continues to suffer successive conference losses, as they fell 4-1 to Brown and 4-0 to Yale.
Brooke Hess ’26 secured the team's only point against the Bears with a two-set victory at No. 6 singles. Hess said the season has been positive despite the team’s losses, and that her teammates continue to support each other regardless of match outcomes.
“We've had a lot of tough matches, and we may not be winning all of them, but as a team we're very close, and we always find a way to play well and fight our hearts out,” Hess said.
With no seniors on the men’s team, Centenari shared his hope for the young team’s potential in the coming years.
"I feel like we've had some ups and downs this season, but overall I'm pleased with the experience that we've been gaining for what's a pretty young group,” Centenari said. “This is a group that will be completely intact next year, and we will bring on two new recruits as well."
Next weekend, the women’s team will remain at home in Hanover to play against Princeton University on April 22 and the University of Pennsylvania on April 23 at Dartmouth's Thompson Outdoor Courts. The men’s team will travel to Princeton, New Jersey, to face Princeton and then to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to compete against UPenn.
