Co-Captains Return For W. Tennis' Weekend Split

After sitting out for two weeks due to injury, senior co-captains Courtney Bergman and Susanna Lingman returned to the court at full strength this weekend for the No. 19 Harvard women’s tennis team (7-3).

On Friday, Bergman topped Northwestern’s Audra Cohen, the top singles player in the nation, in a 4-3 loss to the No. 4 Wildcats (11-1). On Saturday against No. 9 North Carolina (11-4), Lingman defeated Kendall Cline, the No. 23 ranked singles player, contributing to the Crimson’s 5-2 rout of the Tar Heels.

All in all, the returning seniors were a welcome addition.

NORTHWESTERN 4, HARVARD 3

In three tough sets, Bergman—currently ranked No. 40 in the nation—defeated Cohen by a score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-1. Bergman led 4-3 in the second set before falling 5-7, but she cruised to the 6-1 final set victory after taking a 3-0 lead.

Senior Alexis Martire and junior Eva Wang also posted singles wins on Friday, defeating their opponents 7-6, 6-3, and 6-3, 6-4, respectively.

Lingman and freshman Celia Durkin both fell in two-set tiebreakers, while sophomore Elsa O’Riain was defeated after three hard-fought sets.

On the doubles side, Durkin and junior Melissa Anderson were victorious in an 8-4 decision, but the point went to the Wildcats, whose first and second-ranked teams beat Bergman and Lingman, 8-3, and O’Riain and freshman Stephanie Schnitter, 8-6.

“It was a good fight,” Martire said. “They just played a little bit better.”

While the loss was disappointing, the team was proud of its efforts.

“They were big hitters,” Schnitter added. “But we were close.”

HARVARD 5, NORTH CAROLINA 2

After falling to the Northwestern, the Crimson was ready to take care of business against North Carolina and won an impressive five out of six singles contests to triumph over the Tar Heels.

“We came out ready to destroy them,” O’Riain said.

North Carolina claimed the doubles point when its top two pairs defeated Bergman and Lingman and O’Riain and Schnitter, each by a score of 8-5.

O’Riain and Schnitter led their match until the Tar Heels evened the score at five. Harvard’s duo put up a fight when down 5-6, forcing a handful of deuces before the North Carolina pair pulled away.

Bergman and Lingman got as close as 5-7 after falling behind 0-4, but they also eventually fell.

Durkin and Anderson won quickly and handily, 8-1, but the Tar Heels had still earned the first point of the match.

In the singles competition, Durkin and Wang put the Crimson on the board, as each coasted to 6-2, 6-1 victories. Lingman led 3-0 in the first set of her singles match against Cline, North Carolina’s top player, before winning 6-3, and she broke serve to go ahead 3-2 in the second set en route to another 6-3 set and an upset victory.

“[Friday’s loss] inspired us to do better today,” Durkin said. “Everyone did her part.”

Although she twisted her knee early in the match, O’Riain bounced back to defeat her opponent 6-4, 6-4, and clinch the win for Harvard.

Martire prevailed next in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, and at the end of a long battle, Bergman fell to the No. 41 nationally-ranked player, Aniela Mojzis, 3-6, 7-5, 0-1 (7).

Excited about Saturday’s result, the team is looking forward to its next set of matches, as it heads south to face Alabama and South Alabama on March 19-20.

“This is a huge win for us,” Martire said.

While it split the weekend, the Crimson is looking at its performance as a positive sign for the long run, as both Northwestern and North Carolina are among the highest-ranked teams in the nation.

“We know that we’re just as good as they are,” Schnitter said. “Securing a win motivates us and makes a statement to other schools that we are as good.”