SEASON RECAP: Turnaround Season Culminates with Ancient Eight Title

Picked in the preseason to finish in the middle of the Ancient Eight pack, the Harvard women’s tennis team rose above expectations in 2009, and captured the 18th Ivy League Championship in the program’s 35-year history.

After a handful of preseason contests, the Crimson (13-8, 6-1 Ivy), ranked No. 66 in the nation by the ITA at the end of the season, battered Columbia, 6-1, and Cornell, 7-0, in the first Ivy weekend.

“I think we are playing the best at this moment,” sophomore Samantha Rosekrans said after the Big Red match on April 5. “Our goal has been to be the most improved Ivy League team, and thus far I think we’ve accomplished that goal.”

In its next match, Harvard took a step back, falling, 5-2, to No. 46 Princeton. With a 2-1 mark, the Crimson had to win out for a chance at the title. And win out Harvard did.

In two thrillers, the Crimson edged out Penn, 4-3, and No. 58 Brown, 4-3. In arguably the year’s defining match, Harvard surged past the defending Ivy League champion, No. 44 Yale, 5-2. To clinch a share of the Ancient Eight title with the Tigers, the Crimson took down Dartmouth, 6-1. The clinching point came from a win at No. 4 singles by sophomore Agnes Sibilski.

“We knew we could win,” Harvard coach Traci Green said about the Big Green match. “We all had a feeling we would win, but [the only question was] how and when. And Aggie stepped up nicely, and the overall thought was just, ‘Yes, we did it.’ A little bit relieved at that moment, but at the same time excited, and pumped, and proud. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Early in the season, injury setbacks and close losses took a toll on Harvard’s record, and brought into question whether the team would be able to climb in the Ivy League standings.

But the Crimson found its stride just in time for league play.

“We were surprised [about winning the Ivy title],” senior Beier Ko said. “We wanted to win, but we didn’t expect it too much. We really worked hard, and I think we really deserved it. “

Ko was the standout performer on the championship team.

Ranked No. 99 in the nation by the ITA at the end of the season, the senior went undefeated at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles and was unanimously named the Ivy League Player of the Year.

Captain Laura Peterzan, playing at No. 2 singles, earned second-team Ivy League honors. She went 4-3 in singles and undefeated in doubles.

A pair of sophomores, Rosekrans and Sibilski, held down the middle of the singles lineup. Both went 4-3 in league play.

Freshman Holly Cao went 5-2 at No. 5 singles, and a batch of rookies combined to go 3-4 at No. 6.

For Peterzan, who was a member of the last Ivy League Championship team in 2006 with Ko, this year’s title was a different experience.

“As a freshman, we did so well and everything came really easily,” Peterzan said. “We didn’t really understand what it all meant. The two years [after] made us realize how much we took it for granted.”

In 2009, Harvard took on a different role—the underdog. Instead of steamrolling opponents, the Crimson needed to pull out several tight matches to take the title.

“This year’s win was much harder work,” Peterzan said. “In that way, it was much more valuable to me because we had to work so hard. This one really meant a lot more.”

Ko seconded Peterzan’s sentiments.

“Being the underdog and winning the Ivy title means so much more,” she said. “The team wanted to win it so badly. It was such an amazing feeling.”

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