First Win Out of Reach for Struggling Crimson

The Harvard women’s tennis team (0-2) is still searching for its first win of the season after losing 5-2 to No. 29 South Carolina (3-0) at the Murr Tennis Courts on Saturday afternoon.

Though the Crimson dropped all but one of the six singles matches, the team took the doubles point from the Gamecocks after winning two of the three contests.

“I’m really proud of our doubles team,” head coach Traci Green said. “We had been working very hard on our doubles strategy and we’re still in the process of trying to set the lineup.”

These early victories allowed Harvard to jump out to an early lead over South Carolina, a team that consistently boasts top-ranked players from around the world. Two of its players, Gira Schofield and Ana Marija Zubori, are ranked No. 26 and No. 73, respectively.

“We can learn a lot from our opponents,” freshman Agnes Sibilski said. “They come on the court and they just grind and grind. Playing matches always shows you what you need to work on. Smart players will always take advantage of your weaknesses.”

At No. 1 doubles, Schofield and Zubori, ranked No. 9 in the country in doubles, defeated the pairing of junior Beier Ko and Sibilski. However, the duo of sophomores Elizabeth Brook and Laura Peterzan and the pairing of captain Stephanie Schnitter and junior Catriona Stewart both secured victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, respectively.

“We learned that we can play tough against some of the best players from around the world,” Green said.

In singles, South Carolina showed the strength that its national ranking conveys by taking five out of six matches from the Crimson. Only Sibilski prevailed over Jelena Rajic in a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 4 singles. It was Rajic’s first loss of the season.

Of the remaining five matches, only Schnitter managed to steal a set against the Gamecocks in her 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 loss to Natasha Vuckovic.

“We tried our best,” Sibilski said. “There weren’t any complete blowouts. Everyone fought well, and we know where we are as a team. I think we’re still on the right track.”

Zubori defeated Ko 6-2, 6-4 at No. 1 singles while Brook lost to Miljana Jocic 6-1, 6-3. At the No. 6 singles match, South Carolina’s Suzanna Mansour beat Stewart 6-0, 6-1.

This match also gave Peterzan, who has just returned from a semester away, the chance to make her season debuts and begin the season with strong playing experience. She would go on to lose to the Gamecock’s Schofield 6-3, 6-3.

As Harvard looks to the future, eagerly anticipating the arrival of Ivy League competition, the team is hopeful that the experience of these early matches will help all of its players gather momentum and find a favorable rhythm.

“Our next match we’ll be closer to our true form,” Green said. “It’s been our goal the whole season to get better every week. As long as we do that, we have a good chance of meeting our goal which is to peak during the Ivy Season.”

—Staff writer Robert T. Hamlin can be reached at rhamlin@fas.harvard.edu.