W. Tennis Opens Season with Losses

The Harvard women's tennis took to the road this weekend, opening its season against two of the nation's top teams.

Unfortunately things did not go as planned in Virginia, as the Crimson (0-2) dropped both matches, losing to No. 10 ranked William and Mary (7-0) on Sunday, 7-2, and again yesterday to No. 20 Virginia Common wealth, 5-4.

Harvard, currently ranked No. 57 in the country, was a heavy underdog going into the match against William and Mary, especially playing without the services of captain Ivy Wang, who has been out all season with a shoulder injury.

And William and Mary made sure that things went according to plan. The Tribe--who defeated No. 22 Miami the day before--came out focused and determined, easily taking out the Crimson.

Despite the lopsided loss, there was a bright spot for Harvard. Sophomore Sanaz Ghazal, playing in the No. 3 spot, surprised William and Mary by winning her singles match in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

Additionally, Ghazal teamed with freshman Fleur Broughton in doubles action and pulled out another match, giving the Crimson its only two victories in the meet.

"Sanaz's win was really great for her, and in the doubles match we just really clicked," Broughton said. "Everything was going well. We were sticking our volleys and being really aggressive at the net."

With the William and Mary match over, Harvard turned its attention to the No. 20 Rams of VCU. Coming off her terrific performance on Sunday, Ghazal was switched in the lineup to the No. 1 spot, as the Crimson hoped to make a run at the upset.

Unfortunately for Harvard, the move proved to be a non-factor, as Ghazal was unable to repeat her performance of the previous day, losing her singles match.

Despite the loss at No. 1, Harvard was still alive in the meet. Broughton, playing at No. 4, won her singles match in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Jennie Timoney, playing in the No. 6 spot, also won in straight sets, dominating her singles match 6-0, 6-0.

The two convincing wins kept the Crimson within striking distance. They were trailing by a score of only 4-2 after the singles competition. To upset the Rams, however, Harvard needed to sweep all three doubles matches.

But the Crimson came up just short. Both the No. 2 doubles team of junior Vedica Jain and freshman Andrea Magyera and the No. 3 team of sophomore Roxanna Curto and freshman Sarah McGinty won their matches, putting the Crimson just one match from victory.

But the team of Ghazal and Broughton--who had moved up to No. 1 after its success against William and Mary--was unable to post a win, losing 8-4 to a strong No. 1 squad, so VCU held off the underdog Crimson team for a 5-4 victory.

"They were a real tough team to play," Broughton said, "but it was a good experience to play as No. 1 even though we didn't win."

Despite not being able to come away with victories this weekend, Harvard played hard and hung tough against the two superior teams. The match experience gained against these top opponents should serve the Crimson well as it prepares for its Ivy League schedule later in the season.

"These matches give us a bit of confidence," Broughton said. "VCU is ranked No. 20 and we played them close. Also for William and Mary and VCU, these were like their fifth matches of the year, while we were just getting started."

Harvard will now head to New Jersey to play in the Princeton Invitational next Saturday and Sunday. With the tougher matches against William and Mary and Virginia Commonwealth under its belt, the Crimson will look to get in the win column against some Ancient Eight foes.