Trip to California Produces One Win

The Harvard women’s tennis team traveled to California this past week, winning one match and losing two. The Crimson improved its record to 2-11 after hard-fought matches against Sacramento State, UC Davis, and Pacific.

Harvard lost to 51st-ranked Sacramento State on Saturday, falling just short in two of three decisive singles matches for a final score of 5-2. That defeat came after the Crimson shocked UC Davis on Friday, winning 6-1 and handing the Aggies their second home loss of the season. Harvard blew a late lead against Pacific in a 4-3 loss to start off the week.

One of the key factors in the Crimson’s win on Friday, which also contributed to its strong showings in the other matches, was its ability to earn the doubles point.

“With doubles, we got those points every time,” freshman Lena Litvak said. “That was huge.”

Although the doubles victories were not enough to secure three victories for Harvard, when accompanied by the team’s vast improvement over the course of the week, they bode well for the remainder of the season.

“We just played better each match,” coach Gordon Graham said. “We could easily have been 3-0 on this trip.”

The Crimson looks to improve its record on April 6, when it meets Cornell in its first Ivy League matchup.

“We have a chance to do well,” Graham said. “I’m anxious to get into the Ivies and see what we can do.”

SACRAMENTO STATE 5, HARVARD 2

Harvard fell to the nationally-ranked Hornets on Saturday, losing five of the six singles matches.

The lone singles win for the Crimson came from No. 1 sophomore Beier Ko, who fought back to win a tough three-setter over Katrina Zheltova, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. Ko also teamed with Litvak to win at No. 1 doubles.

Senior captain Preethi Mukundan and freshman Elizabeth Brook sealed the doubles point for the Crimson with an 8-3 victory at No. 2.

In singles action, Litvak, playing at No. 2, fell to Anastassia Lyssenko, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, and Mukundan dropped a three-setter in the No. 3 spot (3-6 6-3 6-4). Senior Julia Forgie, junior Vilsa Curto, who is also a Crimson editor, and sophomore Rachel Gottlieb all lost in straight sets in the bottom three spots.

“We just kind of ran out of steam a little bit,” Graham said. “We couldn’t quite handle the warmth and the pressure of the situation.”

HARVARD 6, UC DAVIS 1

Harvard sailed past UC Davis on Friday, beating the Aggies, 6-1. The Crimson easily won its first four matches en route to a stress-free victory.

The No. 2 doubles team of Mukundan and Brook started the day off right, winning their match, 8-2, and Ko and Litvak soon followed their example, picking up an 8-6 win over Jenna Kappel and Herzyl Legaspi to earn the doubles point.

Ko, Litvak, and Mukundan dropped a combined nine games in easy wins in the top three spots, while Forgie and Curto won their matches in super tiebreakers in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

The lone point for the Aggies was at No. 6 singles, with Jessica Harris prevailing over Gottlieb, 6-2, 6-1.

PACIFIC 4, HARVARD 3

The Harvard women’s tennis team tripped at the finish line yesterday, falling just short of beating Pacific in Stockton, Calif. The match, which the Crimson eventually lost, 4-3, featured three Harvard leads and three ties.

The deciding match was at No. 5 singles, where senior Julia Forgie was bested by Tigers freshman Sasha Fisher, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, to break a 3-3 stalemate.

The day started out well for Harvard, which won the opening doubles point. At the No. 1 spot, Ko and Litvak beat Pacific’s Fisher and Jolanta Twarowska, 8-4, and Mukundan and Brook captured the deciding match at No. 2 doubles, 8-6.

In singles action, the Crimson secured straight-set wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches from Litvak (7-5, 6-4) and Mukundan (6-2, 6-0), respectively. Twarowska toppled Ko, 6-4, 6-2, in the top spot, and the Tigers notched wins at the bottom three positions as well. Brook dropped a tight contest at No. 4, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, and Curto was rolled over at No. 6, 6-2, 6-0.