Crimson Netwomen Take State Title, Carry Home Singles, Doubles Crowns

In a follow up to last week's lopsided victory in the Greater Boston Championships, the Harvard women's tennis team crushed many of the same intrastate opponents in Saturday's MAIAW Division I championships in Amherst, taking home both the singles and doubles crowns on its way to a second straight team title.

Sophomore Tiina Bougas lost only seven games throughout the day, breezing by the opposition on the way to a successful defense of her singles crown. Meanwhile, the Crimson doubles pair of Meg Mayer and Debbie Kalish, seeded second behind a tandem from Boston University, swept through its first two matches to set up an all Harvard final with the other Crimson entry. Erica Schulman and Maria Pe.

Because of a quirk in the rules, Harvard could only send one singles entry to Amherst. But that proved to be enough as Bougas cruised past three opponents in straight sets to nab the title. Bougas dispatched Cathy Lynch of Boston College, 6-0, 6-0, in the second round to set up a showdown with an old nemesis, B.C.'s Bernadette Diaz, in the finale.

Bougas played strong tennis throughout the day, and in a rematch of last weekend's GBC finals she overpowered Diaz for another win, 6-2, 6-3.

In the doubles segment of the tournament the racquetwomen proved equally impressive. The all-freshman duo of Schulman and Pe was unseeded in the tournament, having never played together before. But they didn't let this lack of experience hamper them.

Drawing the top-seeded team of the tournament for their first round match, the Yardlings started their partnership off in style with a surprisingly easy 6-0, 6-2 triumph.

Schulman and Pe continued to play well in the second round, shutting out a team from B.C., 6-0, in the first set and clinching a spot in the finals with a tiebreaker win in the second.

The freshmen continued to play well, but the teamwork of Meyer and Kalish proved decisive in the finals. Meyer turned in a strong baseline game, setting up her teammate for putaways at the net. Kalish turned these opportunities into points, on the way to a 6-0, 6-3 decision.

This weekend the netwomen hope to cap their season with a triumph in the New England Championships, a title which barely eluded them last year when they finished one and a half points behind Dartmouth. This year's edition looks to improve on that showing.