W. Tennis Comes up Short in Nail-biting Defeat

Harvard women’s tennis dropped its first match of the spring season, falling 4-3 to No. 57 Southern Methodist University on Saturday at the Murr Center. The Crimson (0-1) had strong individual performances from captain Stephanie Schnitter and freshman Agnes Sibilski but could not squeak out an overall victory.

“I was very surprised,” Sibilski said. “Everyone played really well and I think everyone was happy.”

Saturday’s match was the first since November’s Harvard Invitational. The team, however, battled through its rust and stayed with the Mustangs for the entire contest.

“Overall we played pretty well for our first match,” Coach Traci Green said. “We fought hard and competed well.”

Harvard won the doubles point by taking two out of the three doubles matches. In the No. 1 slot, Sibilski and junior Beier Ko trounced Natalia Bubien and Pavi Francis, 8-3. It was the first time Sibilski and Ko have been paired together.

“I was glad to play number one doubles,” Sibilski said. “We’ve never played together but we played really tough and came out with the win. I was especially happy since it was my first real match.”

An 8-2 loss by senior Vilsa Curto and sophomore Elizabeth Brook evened up the score. In the decisive No. 3 match, Schnitter and junior Catriona Stewart clinched the doubles point by downing Monica Neveklovska and Kristen Reid, 8-5.

“[Stephanie] is a fantastic doubles player,” Sibilski said.

In the singles, the Crimson could only capture two wins. Sibilski, who took the Flight A singles title at the Harvard Invitational in November, played No. 3 singles and overwhelmed Neveklovska, 6-3, 6-3.

At No. 2 singles, Schnitter fought off Francis, winning 6-1, 7-6 (2).

The senior dominated Francis in the first set but struggled a bit in the second. Schnitter was able to keep the second set tight and then came out on fire in the tiebreaker.

Harvard dropped the No. 1, No. 4, and No. 6 singles matches in straight sets. Ko, who played No. 1 singles, lost 6-2, 7-5. At No. 4 singles, Brook played strong and kept the match close but fell 7-6, 6-3. In the No. 6 slot, Curto was downed 6-0, 6-0.

The closest match of the day came between Stewart and the Mustangs’ Kseniia Tokarieva at No. 5 singles. With match points tied at 3-3, the outcome of the entire contest rested on this battle. Stewart took the first set from Tokarieva but dropped the next two, losing 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.

“She was in it all the way,” Green said.

Although the squad starts the season with a loss, the team remains optimistic.

“I see it as a building block, not as a disappointment,” Green said.

“We had a chance to win,” Sibilski said. “It’s definitely a good start.”

The Crimson will seek redemption against No. 32 South Carolina this Saturday at the Murr Center.

“This weekend we have a pretty tough team again, but I definitely see a bright future,” Sibilski said.

—Staff writer Jake I. Fisher can be reached at jifisher@fas.harvard.edu.