SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Melissa Anderson

It might not have been the storybook ending that she wanted, but a first-round loss in the doubles draw of the NCAA Championships this season didn’t take the luster off co-captain Melissa Anderson’s career accomplishments.

In 2006, Anderson and junior Elsa O’Riain finished 31-7 and took a No. 3 ranking into the championship tournament, the highest ranking ever for a Crimson doubles team. Anderson finished 21-3 in singles matches during Harvard’s dual meets, earning her Second Team All-Ivy honors, and her performance as a student earned her a place on the Academic All-District team.

Over the course of her four seasons, Anderson became the winningest player in Harvard women’s tennis history. She graduates with a record of 192-59 in both doubles and singles­­, surpassing the 185-67 mark of Kathy Vigna ’87. Harvard also went a perfect 28-0 against Ivy opponents during her four-year tenure and qualified for the NCAA tournament each season, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen on two occasions.

—GABRIEL M. VELEZ