While the Colgate men’s and women’s tennis teams were unable to defeat Dartmouth, they were able to continue their impressive play at home by each winning their first Patriot League match of the year against Lafayette.Both teams have had to play their share of Ivy League schools this year and have been unable to get any wins. However, the Raider teams have taken care of any opponents who have dared to enter the Sanford Fieldhouse and challenge the Raiders on the Big Green.On Saturday, the men and women traveled to Dartmouth to face a very tough opponent and a team with much depth. Both Colgate squads were swept in doubles, but each received one point in the singles.The men got off to a sluggish start in doubles play, but rebounded with great play in singles action. Senior co-captain Reed Hagmann, who has stepped up his play lately, dispatched Dartmouth first singles player David Webb with ease by crushing forehand winners all match long. Sophomore Chris Innes had an impressive match at second singles, almost pushing the match to three sets. First-year Tyler Deck stepped up and played on a hurt ankle at the sixth singles spot, and although he was forced to retire after the first set, he made a valiant effort to play. Head coach Patrick Fisher was pleased with the match overall. ” I thought our top four singles competed well, but we had a slow start in doubles,” Fisher said. “I give credit to Deck for trying to play, but it’s tough to play against a Dartmouth team that has so much depth, while we have so many injuries.”The Raider women had a similar fate against the Big Green, as they were swept in doubles play and won one singles match. First-year Alex Seaton won her match at third singles in straight sets and has shown that she is a force to be reckoned with.Junior Lillien Vo also had a close match at five singles. Vo lost her match in straight sets, but both of those sets went to tiebreakers, which could have easily gone to the Raider junior.”Our doubles did not compete that badly and we had some close singles matches,” Fisher said. “Seaton again is showing her toughness and she is going to be big for us in the future.”On Sunday both Raider squads kicked off their Patriot League schedule with a match against Lafayette. The women played first and dispatched the Leopards by a score of 7-0 without giving up a single match. It was an impressive start to the Patriot League season and certainly satisfied Fisher: “I am seeing great things out of this team as they continue to improve every week,” he said. “This was a great start to the Patriot League for us and it was a complete team effort. I hope we can build on this and continue to play well.”The men followed up with an equally impressive 6-1 victory, which featured the Raiders sweeping the doubles and only losing the sixth singles match. Hagmann led the team with an impressive win at first singles and the rest of the team followed with inspired play.The big story of the day, however, was junior Jake Heims. The Paradise Valley, AZ native played with a cast on his broken wrist that he had broken just three weeks earlier, and still won both his doubles and singles matches.Even after doctors recommended Heims stay out of action for 6-to-8 weeks, Heims realized the importance of helping his team in league play was adamant about playing. “It’s league play time and there is no way I am missing that,” Heims stated. “Who needs two arms anyway? I am going to take out anybody I play no matter how bad I am hurting.”Those powerful words show this Raider group understands the meaning of the word “team”. The men, who have been plagued by injuries all season, have had people constantly step up, and Heims stepped up when the team needed him most.Fisher was extremely happy after the victory. “It was a good way to finish the weekend by winning our first conference match,” the coach said. “Everyone who played gave it their all and that is what we need. I was impressed with Heims, who showed he can be effective even with one arm; I hope he can continue to get healthy.”The women finished off their week with a match at Cornell, which they lost, 6-1.”The score could have easily been 4-3, but we got unlucky,” Fisher said. “We came out slow in doubles, but played great in singles. I guess the nerves of facing a great team got to us; we cannot let that happen. Senior Marissa Alikpala won her match and we got close to winning our second and third singles matches. We played well this week and I hope we can continue to get better.”It was a solid week for both teams, as the women’s record is now 5-4 and the men are at 4-11. This weekend both teams face off against Quinnipiac and Stony Brook at home, where both the men and women are undefeated this season. Fisher feels this weekend will be a good challenge for both teams and he hopes that the team can play good tennis and get positive results. It is the second half of the season, and so members of both teams are starting to step up for the home stretch.