Women's Tennis Rules Old Dominion, 8-1

The Harvard women's tennis team did not need the luck of the Irish last Friday, effortlessly routing Old Dominion 8-1 at the Murr Center to close out its pre-spring break schedule.

Home court has been a harbinger of victory as Harvard now won two of its first three matches at home, taking a pair of wins over Minnesota so far this spring. In contrast, Harvard has dropped all four road contests.

Avenging the setback to No. 11 Ole Miss last Tuesday, the only defeat that the No. 53 Crimson has suffered at home this season, Harvard (2-5, 0-0 Ivy) halted a dismal five-match losing streak by handing Old Dominion (4-6) its second straight loss.

"It's definitely a confidence booster," captain Vedica Jain said. "Especially since we beat them 8-1. I think the score tells a lot as well."

The Crimson swept the doubles competition, and picked up wins in five of its six singles matches despite having two of its starters--junior Sanaz Ghazal and sophomore Andrea Magyera--sidelined for health reasons. Ghazal's injury limited her to doubles play only.

The last four players on the roster jump two slots to fill in the holes without a hitch. Freshman Sanja Bajin battled rookie counterpart Ana Radeljevic at the top seed and knocked her out in straight sets. Bajin easily stole the first set 6-2 and had to earn the second with a 7-5 win.

Bajin, who grabbed one of the two Crimson victories versus Ole Miss, had no trouble despite Radeljevic's impressive record. Radeljevic entered the weekend with a 7-2 record, and has gone 5-2 this spring in the top slot.

"The freshman are awesome," Jain said. "It's difficult being the youngest on the team, but they're doing an excellent job handing the pressure."

Jain, once again the Crimson's only senior, also coasted to a straight-set victory at the No. 2 spot. Jain made short work of Mily Kannarkat, allowing her just a single point in each of the two 6-1 sets.

"I think I played fairly well," Jain said. "I hadn't played in the last four matches, but I think I'm ready for the next matches coming up."

Sophomore Fleur Broughton posted the most exciting match of the day, notching a drawn-out triumph over Iva Beli in three sets. Broughton tallied a 6-3 win in the first set, but dropped to Beli by the same score in the second. Broughton's 6-4 conquest in the final set secured her the win in the No. 3 seed.

The sophomore duo of Jennie Timoney and Sarah McGinty prevailed easily over Patricia Araujo and Camila Rosa in the fifth and sixth slots, respectively. Timoney beat Araujo in straight sets, posting a 6-0 shutout in the first, and 6-1 in the second. McGinty followed suit by notching a pair of 6-3 wins in her own straight set victory.

The only bright spot for the Lady Monarchs last Friday was Julia Sotiriu, who nabbed Old Dominion's only win of the match, defeating freshman Lara Naqushbandi 7-5 and 6-3 in two sets.

In doubles competition, the Lady Monarchs could fare no better, as the Crimson tallied all three victories in the dual matches.

No. 1 Bajin and junior Sanaz Ghazal started off doubles play with a 9-8 win over Old Dominion's top pair. Radeljevic and Beli came close to upsetting Bajin and Ghazal, but the Crimson pulled out an exciting 9-8 victory.

"It was kind of tough in the beginning because we hadn't played a doubles match together in a while," Ghazal said. "We tried to just stick to the basics and adjust as best we could."

The win is especially sweet for Ghazal, who is making a slow comeback from a hamstring and hip flexor injury earlier this season.

"I'm getting there," Ghazal said. "I'm pretty much better but I'm doing rehab stuff to get back in shape and get my strength back."

Broughton and McGinty avenged Naqushbandi's loss to Sotiriu in singles by quickly defeating the tandem of Kannarkat and Sotiriu 8-2 in the No. 2 seed.

The pairing of Timoney and Naqushbandi did further damage to the Old Dominion squad by denying them a victory in the No. 3 seed. Timoney and Naqushbandi retired Araujo and Rosa with 8-6 win.

With another win in its pocket, the Crimson heads to Southern California this weekend for its spring break schedule. Despite handily defeating Old Dominion, Harvard will have its hands full against four teams that rank higher in the ITA poll.

The Crimson lead off with UC-Santa Barbara, a potentially dangerous opponent and the favorites in the Big West Conference. Harvard will then face Pepperdine and University of Southern California, who both have cracked the top ten, and University of San Diego, who boasts last year's NCAA single's champion.