Women’s Tennis Welcomes St. John’s for Season Opener

Emily Zhou women's tennis action at the invitational

Emily Zhou ’23

Photo by: Doug Austin

Women’s Tennis Welcomes St. John’s for Season Opener

1/20/2023 2:27:00 PM | Women's Tennis

The Red Storm, who went undefeated in the Big East last season, present the Big Green’s first challenge

By: Kyle Relf

HANOVER, N.H. — The Dartmouth women's tennis team opens its 2023 season against St. John's on Saturday at Alexis Boss Tennis Center at 12 p.m. The Big Green are looking to avenge last season's loss to the Red Storm, who went 7-0 in the Big East in 2022.

ALL-IVY RETURNERS
Chidimma Okpara, Katie Weber and Elizabeth Fahrmeier each earned All-Ivy recognition a season ago as Dartmouth went 7-13 overall and 1-6 in the Ancient Eight. Okpara was 10-9, including four victories at the No. 1 position, to earn Second Team All-Ivy singles. Weber and Fahrmeier went 9-7 on the top court to land on the Second Team All-Ivy doubles team. Fahrmeier is sidelined this spring due to injury.

LOOKING BACK ON THE FALL
Hanover was home to two fall events – the ITA Regionals and the Big Green Invitational. Dartmouth went unbeaten through four matches on the opening day of ITA Regionals and eventually landed Okpara, who had prequalified based on ranking, in the Super Regionals. The senior battled a pair of fellow Ivy Leaguers with a win in the opening round before being eliminated by the tournament's top seed. Okpara also highlighted the opening day of the Big Green Invitational with a win over the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year. Dartmouth opened the fall season at the inaugural International Tennis Hall of Fame Collegiate Invitational. Brooke Hess and Ujvala Jupalli opened the grass-court doubles tournament with two straight wins.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Seniors Emily Zhou and Ashley Hess are the Big Green's 2022-23 co-captains. Hess picked up 11 singles victories, including two in Ivy play last season. Zhou saw action later in the spring and was 1-2 at No. 5 singles against conference opponents. She shared the team's most improved award following the season's conclusion.

NEWCOMERS
Valentina Cruz and Brooke Hess were added as members of the Class of 2026. Hess, the younger sister of current senior and co-captain Ashley Hess, was a First Team All-State honoree in New Jersey during her time at Academy of the Holy Angels. Cruz was the top-ranked player in El Salvador and won international tournaments in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean region. Her journey to Hanover was the subject of a Dartmouthsports.com feature story.

THE SCHEDULE AHEAD
The season opener against St. John's is the first of six straight home dates, including the ECAC Indoor Championships, which run Friday, Feb. 10 through Sunday, Feb. 12. The Big Green hit the road for the first time when they travel to Boston University on Sunday, Feb. 26. In March, Dartmouth heads to California for four matches (USC, San Francisco, San Diego State and Arkansas Tech) with two neutral site tilts at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. A trip to Harvard on Saturday, April 1 marks the start of Ivy League play. Brown (Friday, April 7), Princeton (Saturday, April 22) and Penn (Sunday, April 23) are Dartmouth's home conference dates.