Harvard Takes Down No. 22 Miami

The promise of free pizza to the first 75 students in attendance couldn’t lure a larger crowd down to the Murr Center Courts, but for those in attendance, the No. 15 Harvard women’s tennis team delivered more than just a delectable respite from the dining halls. Despite the absence of junior Alexis Martire due to a twisted ankle and a lineup riddled with less-than-healthy players, the Crimson closed out No. 22 Miami after just three singles matches to earn its third-straight victory, 4-3.

The win against the Hurricanes (4-1) is the first during the streak to come against a ranked opponent, just two games removed from a stretch during which Harvard (5-4) lost four of five contests to teams ranked in the top-25.

Junior co-captain Courtney Bergman, ranked No. 41 nationally, served up the contest’s sole upset, taking out No. 11 Megan Bradley in a nail-biter in the No. 1 slot, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

With three points already in hand and the sets divided at one apiece, Bergman jumped on Bradley to start the final frame, earning a break in the third service game before holding to pull ahead 3-1. But Bradley wasted little time snatching the momentum right back, pounding Bergman with her strong serve while breaking right back to put the match back on serve, 4-3.

“I definitely was [disappointed], especially because I knew playing her that that [three-game stretch] was going to be a big momentum shift,” Bergman said. “I just had to tell myself that we were still on serve. Not a big deal.”

And Bergman, who defeated Bradley last year in three sets as well, acted accordingly, calmly winning each of the next three games to seal the Crimson victory, including an extended battle for the final game at 5-4.

“I caught onto her serve more,” Bergman said. “I was kind of punching it back a little better, and it was a matter of stepping up on her second serves.”

Sophomores Eva Wang and Melissa Anderson, playing at No. 2 and No. 6, respectively, placed Harvard up 3-0 with far more comfortable straight-set victories.

Surprisingly for Wang, the better she played, the more difficult her task became.

Whaling on the ball in the first set, Wang recorded her fair share of errors, but her success was tempered by a larger number of unforced errors. Taking some pace off the ball, allowed her opponent Mari Toro to hang tough, but she eventually fell 6-1, 6-4.

“[In the first set,] I didn’t play that well, but you have to work with what you have,” Wang said. “I was making a lot of errors, but the second set I stopped making errors, which is the kind of game she likes, really consistent play.”

Consistent play caused no problems for Wang and recently-added partner junior Ashley Hyotte in their doubles contest, as they routed Sihem Bennacer and Sara Robbins 8-2 in No. 2 doubles to earn Harvard’s first leg en route to the doubles point.

As Wang did to her opponent in singles, adopting an aggressive posture early sent the Hurricane tandem reeling, allowing Wang and Hyotte to coast to victory.

“Ashley’s one of my good friends off the court and we communicate really well,” Wang said. “We started right off the bat and got up right away. We always had a lead.”

The bold style wasn’t limited to Wang and Hyotte, however, as junior co-captain Susanna Lingman and Bergman rushed the net and cut down on the alleys to shut down Bradley and Melissa Applebaum at No. 1.

“It was a pretty tight match but we played solid. We were poaching a lot more and playing aggressive,” Bergman said.

Harvard now has an opportunity to rest its injured roster, taking leave of team competition until March 13, when the squad travels to Charleston to face South Carolina.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu./