Women’s tennis posts strong finishes in the Cissie Leary Invitational

Just one week into the fall season, the Harvard women’s tennis team’s doubles tandems are already in mid-year form.

Despite three new pairings, the Crimson advanced four duos to the quarterfinals of the Cissie Leary Invitational this weekend at the University of Pennsylvania.

Co-captain Courtney Bergman and sophomore Elsa O’Riain navigated their way past Quakers teams in two consecutive rounds with relative ease, then bested Arizona’s entry to reach the final. But the top-seeded Harvard pair couldn’t handle Maryland’s Ramona But—the winner of the weekend’s singles tournament—and her partner Marianne Baker, losing 8-2.

Co-captain Susanna Lingman and junior Eva Wang advanced to the semifinals with a win over freshmen teammates Celia Durkin and Stephanie Schnitter before dropping to the eventual champions. Junior Melissa Anderson and sophomore Preethi Mukundan also made the quarterfinals.

The Crimson did not fare quite as well in singles action, with each of its entries making it out of the first round but none advancing beyond the quarterfinals.

That might not have been the case had Lingman not withdrawn from the tournament prior to her quarterfinal date with Penn’s Raluca Ciochina due to illness. After a first-round bye, Lingman coasted through her next two matches, losing just five games.

Mukundan and classmate Cindy Chu each lost in the Round of 16, Durkin, Schnitter, Anderson and O’Riain the round before.

With the exception of Schnitter, who competed in one of the other events, winning twice, the three members of the squad eliminated in the second round performed well in the consolation draw, advancing as least as far as the semifinals.

—THE CRIMSON STAFF