Weekend Sweep Keeps Crimson Tournament Hopes Alive

Coming into Friday’s match against Brown (15-7, 3-2 Ivy) and yesterday’s match at No. 46 Yale (15-6, 4-2), the Harvard women’s tennis team found itself at a critical juncture in its season. With its loss to No. 28 Princeton (20-5, 7-0) last weekend, the squad witnessed an Ivy League title fall out of its control.

But the Crimson knows that if it wants to qualify for the NCAA tournament, it has to consistently deliver top performances for the remainder of the season. Entering the weekend in a four-way tie in the Ivy League standings with Brown, Yale, and Dartmouth (16-4, 3-2), No. 56 Harvard (13-7, 5-1) knew it needed crucial victories against the Bears and Bulldogs to inch closer to an NCAA berth.

And the Crimson got those wins, topping Brown, 5-2, before pulling out a tight 4-3 win over Yale to move into sole possession of second place.

HARVARD 4, YALE 3

Earlier this season at the ECAC Championships, Yale produced a decisive 6-1 win over the Crimson. The two old rivals faced off again yesterday, and this time around, Harvard was a different team with a different outlook. Willing to put the past to rest, the Crimson had just one goal on its mind—a victory that would bridge the gap to a potential NCAA tournament spot.

With a close 4-3 win against Yale at Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Conn., the squad moved closer to turning those NCAA dreams into reality.

Harvard won the doubles point for its third-consecutive match, polishing a facet of its game that it has frequently struggled with this season. The first doubles duo of sophomore Holly Cao and junior captain Samantha Rosekrans and the second doubles team of freshmen Kristin Norton and Hideko Tachibana each drew 8-3 wins over their opponents.

“We lost to Yale at the ECACs, and that really motivated us,” Cao said. “In doubles, we really stuck together as a team and just kept believing that we could beat Yale.”

In singles, No. 61 Cao fell, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to the Bulldogs’ Vicky Brook at No. 1.

But at No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5, the balls bounced the Crimson’s way. Tachibana defeated Stephanie Kent, 7-6 (5), 6-3, at No. 2. Junior Agnes Sibilski charged back at No. 5 after dropping the first set, 6-2, to claim matching 6-3 wins in the second and third sets.

But the pivotal clinching victory appropriately came down to the captain’s court. Despite losing a close tiebreaker in the first set, Rosekrans exemplified both her resiliency and leadership by posting 6-4, 6-3 wins in the second and third sets, respectively.

Harvard’s win dealt Yale’s ambitions of an at-large NCAA tourney bid a major blow. Princeton, on the other hand, has already clinched an automatic NCAA spot and the outright Ivy League title.

“We do have a really good shot [at an NCAA berth],” Rosekrans said. “We hadn’t focused on that too much before in order to not get distracted. But if we end up winning against Dartmouth [on Wednesday], then I think we have a really good chance.”

HARVARD 5, BROWN 2

On Friday afternoon at the Murr Center, Harvard toppled Brown, 5-2.

The Crimson set the tempo of play for the afternoon by securing the doubles point.

After losing at No. 3 doubles, Harvard picked up a win on the second court, where Norton and Tachibana defeated Misia Krasowski and Julie Flazner, 8-2. All eyes then shifted to the top court, where Rosekrans and Cao edged out Bianca Aboubakare and Cassandra Herzberg, 8-6, to clinch the point.

“Doubles was even better than usual,” Crimson sophomore Sam Gridley said. “We saw a lot of energy from our first through our third doubles. Our No. 2 doubles are always on fire, and our first were really clutch today.”

In singles, Cao consistently dictated play from the baseline, handily defeating Aboubakare, 6-2, 6-1, and improving to 8-0 at home this season. At No. 4, Rosekrans was challenged in the first set against Flazner, but came out on top, 6-4. She pulled out a more decisive 6-2 victory in the second set to give Harvard its second singles point.

No. 3 singles witnessed perhaps the most visible turnaround of the entire match. Norton and Krasowski repeatedly exchanged points in a tight 7-5 first set, which ended in Norton’s favor. But the second set was far more one-sided, as Norton powered back to sweep her opponent, 6-0, handing the overall match to the Crimson.

“Kristin’s been competing really well,” Gridley said. “The girl she [played was] deceptively good. Kristin [was] running on the court a lot faster and just getting to balls.”

At No. 5, Sibilski fell to Marisa Schonfeld, 7-6 (2), 6-2. Freshman Alexandra Lehman and Tachibana dropped their singles matches at No. 2 and No. 6, respectively.