Harvard Starts Ivy Play with Pair of Wins

Opening its Ivy League season, the Harvard women’s tennis team handily defeated Columbia (9-10, 0-3 Ivy), 7-0, on Friday and Cornell (11-7, 1-2), 5-2, on Saturday at the Beren Tennis Center.

With the two wins, the Crimson (10-6, 2-0) now has a four-game winning streak, dating back to March 18. No. 52 Harvard also improved to 6-1 at home.

The Crimson cruised through the weekend, dropping only one singles match in the two days of competition. The team was forced to a third set in singles just three times.

“We stuck to our guns and got the job done,” Harvard coach Traci Green said.

HARVARD 5, CORNELL 2

The Crimson controlled singles all afternoon, as the five top-seeded players earned the win in their matches.

Of these wins, only junior Agnes Sibilski at No. 5 was forced to a third set, but Harvard had already clinched the victory by the time her match ended, 4-6, 7-5, 10-6, in Sibilski’s favor.

For Sibilski, who has been battling an injury, the match was her first since January.

“It’s tough for her—she hasn’t been playing a lot of matches,” sophomore Holly Cao said. “She lost the first set, but she found a way to win.”

Junior captain Samantha Rosekrans put together her second dominant performance of the weekend, dropping only one game in a 6-1, 6-0 win over Natalia Sanchez at No. 4.

“Sam, once again, played lights-out tennis,” Green said. “She showed what she has to offer to the team and really stepped up for us.”

No. 56 Cao defeated Christine Ordway, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 1. Cao took four consecutive games to win the first set and had little trouble in the second to complete the sweep.

When the two previously met on February 12 in the ECAC Tournament at Harvard, Cao won, 6-3, 6-0.

Harvard started the day with a loss, dropping all three doubles contests to fall behind, 1-0, early. The team of Cao and Rosekrans lost, 8-4, freshmen Hideko Tachibana and Kristin Norton fell by the score of 8-6, and sophomores Samantha Gridley and Caroline Davis could not keep it close in their 8-2 defeat.

“Cornell played really well in the doubles,” Green said. “We had a little bit of a slow start and just couldn’t really get out of the hole.”

The four Crimson players who also participated in singles all rebounded, as each swept her match.

At No. 3, Norton won, 6-3, 6-3, for her 11th win of the season. Tachibana picked up her 10th win of the season at No. 2 with a score of 6-3, 6-4.

HARVARD 7, COLUMBIA 0

Harvard had little trouble defeating the Lions for its first Ancient Eight win of the season.

After taking two of the three matches in doubles—the only loss coming in a tiebreaker—the Crimson dropped only two sets combined in the six singles matches.

Still, there were some competitive sets. Cao, Tachibana, and Norton were all forced into tiebreakers, but each managed to win.

After losing her first set on the top court, Cao won the first four games of the second. After dropping four of the next six games, she was forced to a tiebreaker, which she won, 7-5. She held on to win the third set and the match.

“Holly Cao totally found a way to win,” Green said. “She’s been doing that all season for us.”

At No. 3, Norton won her first set in a tiebreaker after falling behind, 5-4 and 6-5. She also expressed her frustration with the calls of her opponent, Chelsea Davis.

“It really gets into my head, because I’m really emotional on the court, and I feel like they’re stealing the point away,” Norton said. “I try not to think about it too much—I get angry, and then I forget about it.”

She won the second set more easily, 6-2, to sweep the match.

At No. 4, Rosekrans put together a strong performance against Columbia, winning, 6-3, 6-1. The captain’s contest was the fastest of the afternoon.

“Sam Rosekrans really led the way for us,” Green said. “She finished first, really quickly. She was really focused, and got the job done.”

Tachibana, freshman Alex Lehman, and Gridley won their matches at No. 2, No 5., and No. 6, respectively.