W. Tennis Clinches Share of Ivy Title

Nobody is perfect, but the Harvard women's tennis team certainly is close.

Even though the team's 10-10 overall record is nothing to brag about, its 6-0 Ivy record certainly is.

In two hard fought matches, the Crimson defeated Brown (14-6, 2-4), 5-4 on Friday and Yale, 6-3, yesterday to clinch a share of the Ivy title.

Little did the Crimson know that the weekend might also mean the end of captain Ivy Wang's collegiate career. Her recurring shoulder injury flared up again forcing her to retire from her match against Yale.

Harvard 5, Brown 4

In Providence on Friday, the Crimson used two doubles victories to secure the 5-4 match victory against the Bears.

"We knew it was going to be tough," Wang said. "We lost to them two years ago for the Ivy title."

Wang lost a three-set heartbreaker at No. 1 singles against Brown's Sanranga Sangakkara, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Brown's Julia Martynova defeated junior Vedica Jain in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 for the No. 2 singles win.

The Crimson swept the next three singles matches, with No. 3 Andrea Magyera and No. 5 Fleur Broughton winning in straight sets.

No. 4 Sanaz Ghazal beat Brown's Leela Raju 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a tight match.

"I was playing a girl who was a senior, and it was her last match of her career," Ghazal said. "She came out pretty confident. I just had to stay focused."

At No. 6 singles, the Crimson's Sarah McGinty fell to Irene Adsur in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5.

Brown's No. 1 doubles team of Martynova and Raju handed Jain and Magyera an 8-4 loss.

That would be the Bears' only doubles win as the Crimson would cruise at the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles spots.

Ghazal and Broughton won 8-2 at No. 2 doubles.

In a dramatic finish to the match, the No. 3 doubles team of McGinty and junior Roxanna Curto won 8-3 to clinch the win.

"They've pulled through consistently," Wang said, noting that the pair has decided more than just this match. "Every point, they were just making every shot."

Harvard 6, Yale 3

An injury to the Crimson's top player could not stop Harvard from rolling over Yale at home on Sunday.

Wang retired from her match against Yale senior Somer Khanlarian at No. 1 singles with a shoulder injury in the first set.

"My serve was really painful," Wang said. "I had a really tough match against Brown, but I hadn't fully recovered."

The shoulder, which has bothered her all season and kept her out of competition for much of the year, will make her a question mark for upcoming matches.

"That might have been my last match of the year," Wang said. "We'll just see how it goes. It's definitely sad, but going in halfway through the season, I was happy being able to contribute as much as I could."

To make up for that loss, the next four singles players for the Crimson all won their matches.

At No. 2 singles, Jain defeated Yale's Sara Naison-Phillips, 7-5, 6-4.

Magyera made her opponent at No. 3 singles, the Bulldogs' Jackie Fu, swallow the double donut, winning 6-0, 6-0.

Ghazal again battled in a three-set match at No. 4 singles, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 over Yale freshman Andrea Goldberg.

"I had a little bit of a lapse in the second set," Ghazal said. "I cleaned up my game and came out fighting in the third. She is a tough player. She doesn't make a lot of errors."

At No. 5 singles, Yale's Susie Hiniker routed Broughton for a 6-3, 6-4 win.

McGinty fell in three sets at No. 6 singles, losing 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 to Yale's Lauren Muehl.

Going into doubles play, the match was all tied up at three. That was no problem for the Crimson.

With No. 1 team Jain and Magyera crushing Naison-Phillips and Fu, 8-1, and the No. 3 team of Ghazal and Broughton rolling to an 8-4 win, the Crimson clinched the match victory.

McGinty and Curto's 9-7 win at No. 3 doubles was the icing on the cake.

"We were extremely happy because we had lost 5-4 to Yale in the fall," Ghazal said. "We were really happy to get revenge. Everybody came out on fire."

The Crimson host Dartmouth on Wednesday at 2 p.m. for the Ivy closer.

"You don't want to underestimate any team," Ghazal said. "We are going to prepare for a tough match."

We have at least a share. Penn is also undefeated, but we beat them head-to-head, 8-1.