W. Tennis Cruises, Improves to 4-0 in Ivies

Slump? What slump?

Just weeks after limping into its Ivy schedule with four consecutive losses, the No. 35 Harvard women’s tennis team rolled over two more Ancient Eight opponents, Princeton and No. 50 Penn, dropping just one of 14 points this weekend to remain undefeated and maintain a two-way tie atop the conference standings with No. 74 Yale.

Though the team remains nicked up from top to bottom as virtually the entire roster tends to nagging injuries, the Crimson court pairings made a slight move towards returning to normal, as junior co-captains Courtney Bergman and Susanna Lingman reclaimed their No. 1 doubles spot after a month-long hiatus. Lingman also returned to singles play on Saturday for the first time since March 20.

Their presence allowed sophomore Eva Wang and junior Alexis Martire to slide back into the No. 2 doubles slot and Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, on the singles depth chart.

“I would definitely say it was a confidence booster,” Wang said. “It was basically the same lineup as last year, when we did so well.”

To replicate the success of that team, Harvard must first qualify for the NCAA tournament, a task now within reach as the Ivy title—and its automatic playoff berth—are within reach now that the toughest part of the Crimson’s season is behind it.

HARVARD 6, PENN 1

Facing what will likely be its stiffest Ivy competition, the Crimson (11-9, 4-0 Ivy) made short work of the Quakers (14-5, 4-2), sweeping the doubles point with ease before taking all but one of the singles matches.

Wang and Martire, ranked No. 45 nationally, fired the opening salvo at No. 2 doubles, routing Penn’s Nikky Ptak and Raluca Ciochina, 8-1, despite ailments which limited the play of each—Martire a lingering ankle injury, Wang having fallen sick prior to the match the previous day.

“Ninety percent of tennis is mental,” Wang said. “It’s one of those things where you just have to work with what you have. The good tennis players even on their worst day still win.”

Freshmen Cindy Chu and Preethi Mukundan sealed the point with an 8-3 victory of their own at No. 3, while Bergman and Lingman—who remain ranked No. 18 nationally despite seeing limited action on the court together due to injuries—encountered stiff resistance at the top of the ladder in Shelah Chao and Rachel Shweky after seizing a 3-0 lead, but, with the point already won, finished the pairs shutout, 8-5.

“We let up in a couple of games,” Bergman said. “Certain points here or there made it closer, but the score wasn’t indicative of the match.”

With his team already on its heels, Quakers coach Michael Dowd pulled his regular No. 2, Caroline Stanislawski, from singles play, bumping the entire roster up one position.

But the gamble backfired miserably, as just one of the five playing up pulled out an upset.

Lingman showed no lingering effects from her injuries at No. 2 against Penn’s regular No. 3, Chao, delivering a crushing 6-1, 6-2 defeat to move the Crimson to within striking distance of victory. Sophomore Melissa Anderson, playing at No. 6, staved off a late-charge from substitute Sara Schiffman, 6-3, 7-5 to move Harvard within one point of victory. Bergman, after eking out a tough first set with an extended tiebreak, 7-6 (7), easily dispatched with Ptak 6-2 in the second set to clinch.

“This girl has a good game and good ground strokes, but mentally she’s not that strong,” Bergman said of Ptak. “When you have a tight set, sometimes, people get fooled...and I played a lot better in the second set.”

HARVARD 7, PRINCETON 0

Defending the baseline as a tandem for the first time since March 14, Bergman and Lingman showed no signs of rust, routing Vanti Bhargava and Alex Kobishyn 8-0.

“We’ve played togther since freshman year,” Bergman said, “so a couple weeks didn’t really make much of a difference.”

Well, maybe it didn’t make much difference in their game, but the effects of their presence resonated down the ladder.

Wang and Martire proved almost equally dominant, handing Mateya McCoy and Darcy Robertson an 8-2 defeat.

“We made few mistakes this weekend,” Wang said. “We just played as a solid team and didn’t play outside our game.”

The challenge mounted by the Tigers (5-11, 2-3) in singles play proved equally harmless, as the Crimson dispatched each match in straight sets.

Martire struck the first blow, easily besting Jessica Siebel 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 before Bergman coasted to an equally sound victory at No. 1 against Alison Hashmall.

“I started playing a lot better these past two matches,” Bergman said. “I’m getting more used to playing outside and everyone is in general.”

Anderson, after blowing straight through an undefeated first set against Laura Trimble, held on in the second for a 6-0, 7-5 victory.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.