Q & A

Q & A with Dartmouth Head Women's Tennis Coach Bob Dallis

What makes Dartmouth unique?

There are a number of things that make Dartmouth unique. Its small size and the incredible sense of community you feel on campus, the Dartmouth Plan, and Dartmouth's bucolic campus are a few that immediately come to mind. Dartmouth is located in an incredibly beautiful area, and Hanover is one of those picture-perfect New England towns like those you see in movies. Apparently, when President Eisenhower visited Dartmouth's campus in 1953, he said, "This is what a college ought to look like." And it still looks just as idyllic more than 50 years later.

To me, Dartmouth is the best of both worlds. It combines outstanding academic and cultural offerings like those you'd find in a more urban setting, with amazing recreational opportunities thanks to Dartmouth's proximity to the Connecticut River, and to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Green Mountains of Vermont. Not surprisingly, Hanover has been named the best college town in America by a number of websites, and Outside magazine placed Dartmouth at No. 7 on its list of the "40 Coolest Places to Work, Play, Study, and Live." And Dartmouth is just two hours from Boston, four from New York City, and three from Montreal.

Contributing to Dartmouth's uniqueness is that it's the smallest Ivy League school, with 4,300 undergraduates. As a result of the College's smaller size, you get a tremendous sense of community and school spirit on campus. Students and alums love Dartmouth so much that it's said they, "Bleed Green." Dartmouth is also exceptionally diverse. Fully one third of the members of the class of 2007 are students of color, and Dartmouth has students from every state and 61 nations.

The Dartmouth Plan is also unique to Dartmouth. Basically, the D-Plan enables students to take at least one

term away from Dartmouth. This term can be used to study abroad, to do an internship, perform volunteer work, or play tennis tournaments--essentially whatever you want. Most of the tennis team takes their D-Plan term away in the fall of their junior year. Members of the tennis team have recently used their D-Plan term to shadow a pediatric anesthesiologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, to teach English in Bolivia, and to study math at the College International in Budapest.

One of the things students love about the D-Plan is that it enables them to have their pick of internships. Dartmouth students have an advantage because they can do an internship at any time during the year; they don't have to compete with everyone else for the few prized summer internships. Many students use their D-Plan term to study abroad. According to a recent study, Dartmouth ranks first among its peers and first among Ivy League institutions in student study-abroad participation. Over 60 percent of Dartmouth undergraduates elect to study abroad at some time during their academic careers.

Another great thing about Dartmouth is that 100 percent of the classes are taught by professors, not by teaching assistants. The student-faculty ratio is 8 to 1 and, because class sizes are small, the faculty and students really get to know each other. I see many professors out hitting with members of the tennis team after class, or cheering on their students at our tennis matches.

Dartmouth prides itself on focusing on the undergraduate, yet undergraduates also benefit from the resources of Dartmouth's outstanding graduate programs. The Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration are all among the best graduate schools in the nation. And the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which is the finest medical center in northern New England, offers numerous research opportunities for pre-med students or science majors.

Another unique and wonderful Dartmouth experience are the three-day outdoor expeditions that the Dartmouth Outing Club sponsors for incoming freshmen every year. These trips are a great way to meet and bond with other freshmen, and to explore the mountains, lakes, and rivers near Dartmouth's campus. You can choose from such activities as hiking, rock climbing, and photography at levels from beginner to advanced. At the conclusion of the trips everyone gathers at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge where they eat a traditional meal of green eggs and ham. In case you hadn't guessed, Dr. Seuss is a Dartmouth alum.

What should recruits know about Dartmouth tennis?

I've been the head coach of the Dartmouth women's tennis team since June 2002 and I'm looking to build on Dartmouth's proud tennis history. We play a top-flight schedule featuring several nationally ranked teams, and are looking to recruit players with top 150 USTA national rankings.

Dartmouth has long been a force in the NCAA Division I East Region, and the team has been ranked among the top 60 in the nation. Recent tennis team alumnae include Jayme Ahmed '05, a three-time All Ivy selection and Dartmouth record holder for career victories at 135 (Jayme was 6-1 in 2005 Ivy League play at No. 1 singles); Sarita Yardi '02, a three-time All Ivy selection; Carly Bashleben '02, a two-time All Ivy selection; Allison Taff '00, a three-time All Ivy selection; and Rebecca Dirksen '00, a seven-time All Ivy selection and the 1999 Ivy League Player of the Year. We've beaten every Ivy League team in recent years, and are working to bring an Ivy League title to Hanover and earn a berth in the NCAA Team Championship.

The Dartmouth women's tennis team is an exceptional group of young women. They work extremely hard both on the tennis court and in the classroom, as is evidenced by their consistent selection as an ITA All-Academic Team (for attaining a combined team GPA of 3.5 or higher). They are leaders in their sororities and in such campus groups as Women in Business and Women in Science. Our alumnae have gone on to Georgetown Medical School, UCLA Law School, Harvard Business School, graduate programs at the University of California-Berkeley, and to successful careers in business, consulting, and education. I think what I'm most proud of is that the Dartmouth women's tennis team is known for its terrific team cohesion and for having a lot of fun together, on and off the court. We also do some volunteer work as a team. We've helped out with the winter Special Olympics in Hanover, and recently helped build a Habitat for Humanity house. We also teach a community tennis program for local youngsters every January. I think it's extremely important to give back to your community, and I'm glad that our players share this commitment to volunteering in the Dartmouth community.

What should recruits know about you, Coach Dallis?

I've been a Division I head college tennis coach since 1987, and I've learned a lot about developing players in that time. I'm totally committed to helping all of our players get better and to being the best coach I can be. In 2002 I earned a doctorate in developmental studies and counseling, with a specialization in sport and exercise psychology. My dissertation, "The Design and Implementation of an Elite Training System for Tennis," essentially detailed how to develop a top 200 pro player. I also attended the USTA's High Performance Coaching program at the National Tennis Center in New York in September 2005, and in Florida in January 2003, where I got to work with Pete Sampras's longtime coach, Paul Annacone. I think it's crucial that I keep learning and growing as a coach so that our players will have access to all the latest player development and fitness research.

What are your coaching philosophies?

My primary goal as a coach is to help all our players maximize their potential and to make their experience as members of the tennis team as fun and memorable as possible. I think that most players would love to see how good they can get in college, how far they can take their games. I like nothing better than helping players to develop their talent. In order to help facilitate the development process, my job is to:
1) Help our players get in top physical condition.
2) Accentuate our players' personal strengths and develop their weapons.
3) Make the process of working hard and improving as fun and enjoyable as possible.

What are Dartmouth's tennis facilities like?

With the awesome Alexis Boss Tennis Center and Alan D. Gordon Pavilion it's incredibly easy for players to work on their games year-round at Dartmouth. The six-court Boss Tennis Center is one of the finest indoor facilities in the country and was named Tennis Industry Magazine's "Facility of the Year" for 2002. In addition to separate home and visitor locker rooms, showers, and a large team room outfitted with computers, the Boss Tennis Center also boasts a full work out facility that is exclusively for tennis team use. Dartmouth also has 17 outdoor courts, including four clay courts.

What is the practice and work out schedule like?

We practice six days a week for three hours a day except Mondays, which we usually take off. Practice is broken up into two hours of tennis and one hour of conditioning, which we are conveniently able to do in the weight room and conditioning area in the Boss Tennis Center. We either practice from 3-6 p.m. or 4-7 p.m. depending on our practice rotation with the men's team. I also ask each player to come in once a week for an individual with me. This way we can work on whatever each player wants, or fine-tune something they've been working on in practice. If players want more than one individual a week, I'm always available to work out.

Does Dartmouth offer tennis scholarships?

No, none of the Ivy League schools offer athletic scholarships. Dartmouth does offer need-based financial aid and practices need-blind admissions. Moreover, if you get accepted to Dartmouth and your family can't afford the entire tuition, Dartmouth guarantees to meet 100 percent of each student's demonstrated need with need-based packages, grants, and work-study jobs. A new ranking from U.S. News and World Report puts Dartmouth third among the nation's private universities in the average amount of financial aid students receive, ahead of all the other Ivy League schools. The average financial award at Dartmouth is $26,134, and 46% of the class of 2007 is receiving financial aid and/or academic scholarships.

What should recruits know about the admissions process?

Admission to Dartmouth is highly selective. Each year over 10,000 students apply for approximately 1,050 slots in the freshman class. Dartmouth seeks to enroll students with outstanding records of academic accomplishment and extracurricular leadership. While there is no minimum grade point average, SAT, or class rank required for consideration, 90 percent of admitted students rank in the top 10 percent of their high school class and have SAT scores of at least 1950. For more information, go to the Dartmouth admissions page.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to e-mail Coach Dallis.