End to Skidding Ways Not in Sight

Harvard women’s tennis expected the beginning of the season to be tough, but nobody knew it would be this tough.

Over the long weekend, the Crimson (0-5) lost to the No. 53 Virginia Cavaliers (4-3), 5-2, and the No. 16 William & Mary Tribe (8-3), 7-0, falling into a five-match skid. Four of the five losses have come at the hands of ranked opponents.

“We’ve got the toughest schedule of any of the other Ivy League schools,” junior Laura Peterzan said. “It’s going to do us well when we play them. We are going to be more ready.”

William & Mary asserted its dominance over Harvard with the 7-0 victory yesterday, but the Crimson played Virginia tough on Saturday.

The squad lost the doubles point to the Cavaliers after dropping the deciding game, 9-8, but eventually tied the match score back up at 2-2 with wins by junior Beier Ko and freshman Samantha Rosekrans. Harvard, however, let victory slip out of its hands as it dropped the next two singles matches in straight sets.

“We had a couple players who couldn’t play with injury and on a different day it could have gone the other way,” Peterzan said.

The Crimson will have more than a week off before it returns to action Feb. 29 against Boston College at the Murr Center.

WILLIAM & MARY 7, HARVARD 0

The Tribe had no letdowns against Harvard as the team rolled through the doubles portion and failed to drop a set in singles.

The Crimson’s No. 1 and No. 3 doubles teams could not find their footing and suffered defeats to high-ranked opponents. In the top spot, captain Stephanie Schnitter and Peterzan lost by an 8-1 score to Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zoricic, a team ranked 46th in the nation. At No. 2, Ko and Rosekrans played well but were downed, 8-6.

In the singles portion, William & Mary attacked Harvard from the start. Ko put up the best fight in the No. 1 position against a very strong Moulton-Levy, ranked 12th in the nation. Ko, however, saw her two-match winning streak end as she lost, 6-3, 6-3. Schnitter and Peterzan also fell in straight sets to opponents ranked 55th and 83rd, respectively.

In the No. 4 position, Rosekrans lost the first singles match of her career, 6-1, 6-1, to Klaudyna Kasztelaniec.

“It can be easy to slip into feeling that losses mean you’re not making progress,” Peterzan said. “It’s important to bear in mind we are playing incredibly strong teams. This is all making us stronger.”

VIRGINIA 5, HARVARD 2

Last week against Boston University, the Crimson had a letdown in the doubles portion of the match. Against the Cavaliers, however, the doubles teams came out strong and were just one game away from taking the point.

“We fought really hard and were really positive,” Peterzan said. “We were only a couple points away from taking the overall doubles point.”

Even though Virginia handled Harvard at the No. 3 position, the Crimson’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams proved to be formidable challenges. In the No. 1 slot, Schnitter and Peterzan did away with the Cavaliers’ team of Amanda Rales and Lara Alexander, 8-6. At No. 2, Virginia barely edged Ko and Rosekrans, 9-8 (2).

In the singles portion, Harvard tied the match score at 2-2 with big wins from Ko and Rosekrans. Ko knocked out Amanda Rales, 6-0, 6-3, and Rosekrans kept her undefeated season alive by defeating Hampton Williams, 6-2, 6-2.

Tied 2-2, the Cavaliers took the next two singles matches in straight sets and clinched the match.

In the last match of the day, Virginia’s Maggie Yahner defeated Schnitter, 7-5, 4-6, 10-7, in the No. 3 slot.

“If the overall score hadn’t been decided, who knows what could’ve happened,” Peterzan said of Schnitter’s match.

The final set at No. 3 singles and the doubles point proved to be the definitive moments of the match.

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