W. Tennis Hopes to Keep Ivy League Record Spotless

After serving Princeton and Penn two major losses last weekend, the Harvard women's tennis team is breathing a little easier.

The Tigers and the Quakers proved to be formidable opponents, but the Crimson (6-6, 4-0 Ivy) was up for the task.

Leading the Ivy League with an undefeated record, the national rankings do not show the depth and superiority of the No. 75 Crimson squad, which has faced a number of tough non-league matches all year.

Earlier this season, the Crimson faced a handful of Top 20 teams, including No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 12 Vanderbilt, and No. 14 William and Mary. In contrast, Princeton and Penn are Nos. 69 and 49, respectively.

"We have had to face a much tougher schedule this season," Captain Ivy Wang said. "The record doesn't look as good as it actually is."

Even though the Crimson has had to face numerous top-ranked teams, the team has not let that stand in the way of its impressive record.

What Harvard may seem to lack numerically, it most assuredly compensates with ferocity, which helps the Crimson win matches.

Harvard opened last weekend with a close 5-4 win over the Tigers, in perhaps the strongest team effort all season. After the singles matches and the first two doubles matches were finished, the Crimson found itself in a precarious position--tied 4-4 with one match hanging in the balance.

In the No. 3 doubles match, junior Roxanna Curto and freshman Sarah McGinty were the lucky ones who found the fate of the match in their hands.

The Tigers' Kristi Watson and Olivia Streatfield forced McGinty and Curto into a 6-5 deficit, but the Crimson duo soon turned the table, winning 8-6 to clinch the match.

Another bonus for the Crimson was the return of Wang, who had been out with a shoulder injury all season and faced speculation that she would not come back this year.

Returning to fill the No. 2 spot for Harvard, she faced off against Amanda Hastings-Philips. After falling behind 6-3, she rose to the challenge and finished off her Tiger competitor, winning the next two sets, 6-1 and 7-5.

"It feels great to be back. My shoulder will never be one hundred percent again, but I didn't expect to even be able to play," Wang said. "Look at what I do have, instead of what I don't have, and I go out with a lot of attitude because I'm happy to be playing."

Junior No. 1 Vedica Jain and freshman No. 3 Andrea Magyera all won their matches, giving the Crimson a 3-0 advantage over Princeton.

Unfortunately for Harvard, Princeton was not ready to concede defeat.

The final three sets of singles swung in the Tigers' favor as sophomore Sanaz Ghazal, freshman Fleur Broughton and Curto dropped in straight sets.

Princeton got an early edge going into doubles as Hastings-Philips and Gailor Large defeated Jain and Wang in No. 1 doubles. But Ghazal and Broughton set the pace for the final match as they defeated Priya Bhupathi and Kerry Patterson 8-4.

Penn was the big headache for the Crimson heading into last weekend, but from looking at the numbers, it seemed like the Quakers' defeat took a lesser effort from Harvard. But the key to the 8-1 win was the strong effort made by all members of the team.

"Every player on our team played tougher than every player on their team," Wang said. "Every player buckled down and came together [to win]."

Wang overcame one of the Ivy elite, Anastasia Pozdniakova, in a straight set victory, 7-6, 7-4. Jain and Magyera quickly followed suit with straight set victories of their own.

Ghazal and Broughton played the most dramatic roles of the night, battling back from close matches.

Ghazal was down in the second set after losing the first, but she battled back to win 2-6, 7-5, 6-3. Broughton was down three match points in the second set but rallied to win 6-2, 7-5, 6-1. Curto lost only Crimson match, 6-2, 7-5.

Demonstrating its desire to win, the Crimson dominated the doubles matches as well.

The pair of wins from last weekend will certainly be a major confidence booster as Harvard's toughest Ivy foes are behind them.

Today the Crimson faces Brown in Providence and will host Yale on Sunday.

"We will definitely play with the same intensity and positive attitude," Wang said. "We'll go out there and feel confident. This proves to us how good of a team we are, which really isn't reflected in the ranking."