A rough beginning turned into a strong finish as the Massachusetts tennis team competed in the three-day Big Green Invitational hosted by Dartmouth in Hanover, NH.

The tournament was a challenge for the Minutewomen, as they took the court against opponents from Dartmouth, Stony Brook, Boston University, Syracuse and Army.

As the weekend went on, the Minutewomen played eight singles matches and four doubles matches each day.

UMass took on Dartmouth on the first day, followed by Stony Brook’s singles competitors and Army’s doubles teams on Day 2. The tournament then focused on singles play for Day 3, as the team finished with Army’s singles opponents.

Dartmouth gave the Minutewomen the most problems, as the team won one match out of eleven singles and doubles on Day 1. However, UMass rallied against the Black Knights and Seawolves on Saturday and Sunday, ending up with winners in two singles matches and three second-place doubles teams by the end of the weekend.

Freshman Kaitlyn Carpenter and sophomore Laura Murillo were the leaders of singles play, taking first-place finishes in the No. 4 and 6 singles, respectively.

Carpenter beat runner-up Carly Markovitz by 11 points to win her tournament, while Murillo rallied late to beat the rest of the pack, 28-24. Both second-place finishers were from host Dartmouth.

As for doubles play, the combination of junior Masha Pozar and Candynce Boney continued to thrive, taking second in the first doubles bracket, while Murillo and Tanisha Hodgson took second in the second bracket.

However, senior captain Kristin DiPiero led the way for UMass, who, despite not finishing first in any tournament, failed to lose a singles match and helped the doubles teams after switching from singles following Day 1.

The big day for UMass was Day 2, as the Minutewomen flattened the Seawolves to vault them higher in the point standings. Pozar and Boney led the way, defeating Stony Brook’s Paola Rodolfi and Claudia Sanua. Hodgson, Murillo and DiPiero also beat their opposition in singles play.

This is the second straight year that UMass has competed in Hanover.

The invitational last year was more traditional with singles and doubles brackets instead of this year’s point system.

This weekend’s tournament ends the fall season for the Minutewomen, who will resume play with a home dual match against Boston College Feb. 2 in Amherst.

Sam Ehrlich can be reached at [email protected].