Harvard Women’s Tennis Completes Weekend Sweep, Caps Off Undefeated Ivy Season

Harvard women’s tennis completed its regular season with an overall record of 15-8, and conference record of 7-0. The Crimson finished this weekend with a 4-3 win against Columbia, and 4-2 defeat of Cornell— securing the sole title and a 7-0 conference streak that hasn’t been seen since 2006.

Harvard 4, Columbia 3

Harvard began with a close fight for the doubles point, ultimately conceding to Columbia. The Lions took the first two courts at 6-3 and 7-5, but the Crimson’s No. 3 sophomores Stephanie Yakoff and Natalie Block claimed their set 6-3.

This meant the Crimson started at a disadvantage in singles, which was furthered by Columbia’s Gayathri Krishnan winning over Yakoff on the first court. She fell 6-3, 6-2 in a series of difficult sets that reflected the tough match ahead.

Despite not having a lead in overall points, Harvard remained in the game. Sophomore No. 3 Kate Kim exemplified this by winning both her sets 6-4, 6-3 and putting a point on the board for the Crimson.

Following suit was No. 4 senior Maxi Duncan who tied the score at 2-2 between the teams, winning her match 7-5, 6-3.

This made it anyone's game, with Harvard risking a sole claim to the Ivy title and an undefeated streak.

On courts five and six, sophomores Kavya Karra and Block battled, both going to tiebreaks in their second sets. While Karra took her 7-6 victory and additional point for the Crimson, Block ultimately dropped hers, resulting in another 3-3 tie for the overall match.

The pressure was on No. 2 junior Charlotte Owensby, who took her match to a third set. After an initial 3-6 loss and second 6-3 win, securing the match would not be an easy feat.

However, Owensby proved that it could be done.

After hitting a forehand that her opponent couldn’t get a racket on, the junior turned to her teammates and the joyous celebration began.

Winning this match finalized Harvard as the official 2025 Ivy League Champions, but the season wasn’t over yet.

Harvard 4, Cornell 2

The Crimson entered the final conference match with a streak to uphold.

Doubles proved to be tougher for Harvard, as Cornell was able to beat the No. 1 team of Yakoff and senior Holly Fischer, as well as senior captains Rachel Arbitman and Angel You at No. 3.

The Crimson made a turnaround quickly in singles, as Fischer was able to quickly secure a point for Harvard with 6-0, 6-2 sets, displaying once again her strong baseline performance and high-level gameplay.

Following her lead was Owensby, who won a gritty 7-5 set that she followed up with a 6-0 second set shutout.

No. 4 Kim faced more difficulty on her court, with her first set entering a tight tiebreak that she was not able to bounce back from, losing her second 6-2.

That awarded the Big Red its second point of the day, but Harvard made sure that it was their last.

Duncan proved her ability to dominate in both singles and doubles, emerging victorious 6-3, 6-1. This was one of many displays of the senior’s ability to remain consistent on the court and in her skill.

Once again, the ability to clinch the win for Harvard came down to third sets.

Karra and Yakoff had both split their previous sets, but demonstrated that either of them could take it home for Harvard.

Especially impressive was Karra, who had lost her first set 0-6 and flipped the score in the second.

She began her final point with a solid serve, and then engaged her opponent in an intense rally that wore Cornell’s Emma Baker down. With a final stroke, Baker’s return hit the net and solidified the Crimson victory.

After an impressive, undefeated season in the Ivy League, Harvard looks forward next to the NCAA tournament, which begins on May 2nd.

—Staff writer Bianca M. Egan can be reached at bianca.egan@thecrimson.com