Women's Tennis Swept at Home by Killer P's

The No. 63 Harvard women’s tennis team hosted its first two Ivy League matches of the 2015 campaign this weekend. But the friendly confines of the Beren Tennis Center provided the Crimson (7-9, 0-4 Ivy) with the same results as last weekend—consecutive 5-2 losses—this time to Penn (8-8, 1-4) and No. 53 Princeton (11-7, 5-0).

This is the first time in coach Traci Green’s eight-year tenure that the team has begun Ivy League play 0-4. In addition, after playing first singles in Harvard’s first two conference matches, freshman Nikki Kallenerg was unable to play this weekend due to injury. The Crimson’s seven Ivy League singles victories this season have come from five different players.

“Everyone’s been contributing,” freshman Ellen Jang-Milsten said. “There’s always someone else who’s ready to step up and have a good day. The team has been strong and very flexible, willing to do [its] part.”

PRINCETON 5, HARVARD 2

The Tigers remained undefeated in Ivy League play with their win on Sunday. The victory was the ninth consecutive for Princeton over Harvard.

The Crimson captured its first doubles point of the Ivy League season by taking two out of three from the Tigers. Junior Amy He and Jang-Milsten fell on court two, but the duo of sophomore Monica Lin and rookie Annika Ringblom prevailed, 8-6, as did sophomore June Lee and junior Amanda Lin, 8-5.

Despite the hot start, the team was only able to pick up one more victory on the day, getting outscored in singles action, 5-1. Ringblom picked up the only singles win of the day, winning 6-2, 6-3 at the second singles position. It was the freshman’s second victory of her Ivy League career.

“Princeton is tough,” Lee said. “We knew we had to bounce back from [Saturday]. We came out super pumped and energetic and won the doubles point. They have some tough players. We’re right there with all these schools, so we’re just looking to be resilient and stay positive and hopefully win our next three matches.”

Amanda Lin had the longest singles match of the day, falling 1-6, 6-4, 5-6 (3) to senior Katie Goepel. Monica Lin was the only other Crimson player to take her opponent to a third set. The sophomore fell to Princeton captain Lindsay Graff, the No. 119 player in the country, 0-6, 7-5, 1-6. Lee, Jang-Milsten, and He each fell in straight sets.

PENN 5, HARVARD 2

Harvard dropped its third 5-2 Ivy League match on Saturday afternoon. It was the first home conference match for the Crimson and the team’s first home outdoor match of the season.

After losing the all-important doubles point, Harvard’s top three players all fell to Quakers. Monica Lin, playing at the first singles position for the first time in her Crimson career, fell to Penn senior Agustina Sol Eskenazi, 0-6, 6-4, 3-6.

Then after dropping a first-set tiebreaker, Ringblom dropped the second singles match to sophomore Kana Daniel. Lee also fell in straight sets, 4-6, 0-6, to junior Sonya Latycheva. In the day’s closest match, Quaker freshman Ria Vaidya bested Harvard’s five-player, He, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

“I think it came down to making adjustments, having to deal with the wind, [and] who made better shot selections,” Lee said. “Everyone fought really, and that’s all we can really do.”

Jang-Milsten took the tiebreaker in her first set before cruising to a straight set victory over Lina Qostal. The victory was Jang-Milsten’s first in Ivy League action. Amanda Lin took a three-set victory from Penn senior Alexandra Ion. The West Chester, Ohio, native teamed up with Lee to pick up Harvard’s only doubles victory.

Monica Lin and Ringblom fell to Eskenazi and Latycheva, while Jang-Milsten and He were downed by Daniel and Vaidya.

“One thing we definitely need to work on is coming out more confident, being more aggressive in the beginning, and having a good start,” Lee said. “The other team will feel that [pressure].”

—Staff writer Stephen J. Gleason can be reached at sgleason@college.harvard.edu.