W. Tennis Loses Ivy Finale to Dartmouth

The Harvard women's tennis team, having already been eliminated from contention for the Ancient Eight title, looked to end its Ivy League season on a positive note against Dartmouth on Wednesday and solidify a bid for postseason play.

For Dartmouth, however, the postseason was Wednesday. Although the Big Green had no chance of consideration by the NCAA selection committee, the match against the Crimson represented an opportunity to send seniors Rebecca Dirksen and Allison Taff off as winners at home.

Sometimes, it really is a matter of who wants it more.

The Harvard women's tennis team lost its final Ivy League match of the season to Dartmouth at Leverone Field House, 6-3. By losing to the Big Green, the Crimson (11-11, 5-2 Ivy) failed to bolster its bid for a berth in the NCAA tournament, to be held in Malibu, California in late May.

With the win, the Big Green (10-8, 4-3 Ivy) defeated the Crimson for the first time in five years.

The Crimson split the six singles matches. Experience won out over youth in the marquee matchup, as freshman phenom No. 1 Sanja Bajin saw her three-game singles winning streak snapped by Dartmouth's Dirksen.

Dirksen, last year's Ivy League Player of the Year, had suffered a number of nagging injuries during most of the spring season. She showed no ill effects in her final collegiate singles game, however. She kicked off the match in dominant fashion, defeating Bajin 6-1 in the first set.

Bajin was able to make the second set close, but ultimately fell, 6-4, as Dirksen took the match in straight sets.

"[Dirksen]'s a really good player," Bajin said. "I was a little hurt, but she really came to play."

Junior No. 3 Sanaz Ghazal and sophomore No. 4 Jennie Timoney were also swept by their Big Green counterparts. Gahal fell to Taff, Dartmouth's other departing senior, 6-3, 6-2, and Timoney lost to fellow sophomore Carlie Bashleben, 6-1, 6-1.

However, the Crimson kept it close throughout singles play. Captain Vedica Jain, playing in the No. 2 spot, defeated Big Green sophomore Sardita Yardi, 6-4, 6-4, and Harvard sophomore Fleur Broughton took a close second set 7-5 from Courtney Smalley to clinch a win at No. 5.

Freshman Lara Naqushbandi broke out of her recent doldrums, cruising past Dartmouth No. 6 Carolyn Roth 6-1, 6-0. Her singles win sent Harvard into doubles play deadlocked with the Big Green, 3-3.

If anything, this scenario seemed to favor Harvard, as the Crimson doubles teams had been strong all year. Despite their advantage on paper, however, all three of the Harvard duos faltered in Hanover. The Big Green senior tandem of Dirksen and Allison Taff defeated Bajin and Ghazal by an 8-3 margin.

Dirksen had only recently returned to doubles play after her previous injuries, but she and Taff won their fourth straight match with relative ease, and Dartmouth seemed poised for the win.

The decisive point came at No. 2 doubles, where Jain and Andrea Magyera fell to a pair of sophomores. Sarita Yardi and Carly Bashleben defeated them by an identical 8-3 score, and Dartmouth had clinched a winning Ivy record.

With the victory, Yardi and Bashleben capped off perfect 7-0 spring season against Ivy opponents in doubles play.

"[Yardi and Bashleben] were really psyched to play us," Bajin said. "And I guess we didn't expect them to be as excited as they were."

And the Big Green finished off the Crimson in the third doubles match, as Carolyn Roth and Courtney Smalley defeated Broughton and sophomore Sarah McGinty.

Even though it was no longer in contention for the Ivy League crown, the Crimson hoped to end the season on a four-game winning streak. Instead, Harvard finishes its Ivy League season a full two games behind undefeated Princeton (7-0).

Bajin said that Dartmouth's determination came from more than its seniors' final appearances.

"Harvard usually does very well, at least first or second in the League," Bajin said. "I guess that just gave them additional reason to finish really strong."

Harvard will complete its season against Boston University on the significantly less hostile courts of the Murr Center on May 6th. By then, the team will know whether it has qualified for NCAA Championship play. Having failed to clinch the division title, Harvard's status is still somewhat up in the air.

Last year, Harvard received an automatic bid by virtue of its league championship and was the only Ivy team selected to the field of sixty-four. The Crimson did not strengthen its case this season for at at-large bid this week with its loss against Dartmouth.

"We really can't be sure," Bajin said. "We just have to keep playing and hope that things work out."