Peterzan Leads Crimson at Penn

Senior co-captain Laura Peterzan and sophomore Samantha Rosekrans traveled last weekend to Penn for the ITA Women’s Eastern Regional Championship. Both competed in the singles draw and as a team in the doubles competition.

Peterzan made her most successful run in the main singles draw, an opportunity of which she took full advantage.

Things did not begin easily for Peterzan, as she faced Elyse Steiner of Temple in a tough three-set match in the first round. The Crimson player took the first set and had a match point in the second, but Steiner fought back to even the score. The final set proved easier for Peterzan, who came away with the 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory.

Her momentum carried over to the second round Sunday against Fordham’s Dominique Ligouri. Peterzan emerged victorious 6-0, 6-0, a tally made even more impressive by Ligouri’s singles draw seeding of 17.

“I thought it would be a little closer, but [Peterzan] was just on a mission,” Green said. “When [she] gets going, she’s very hard to stop.”

Taking on another seeded player in the third round, Peterzan was unable to continue her run through the draw. She was defeated 6-2, 6-3 by Virginia’s Emily Fraser, the number nine seed. Peterzan fell behind in the first set and was never able to recover, but the score was slightly deceiving.

“Just a few points going the other way could have completely turned around the outcome of the match,” Peterzan said. “If I were to play her again, it definitely would be a very winnable match.”

The match made for Peterzan’s fifth match in two days, but she dismissed fatigue as a factor.

“We’ve been doing a pretty good job in terms of all our training,” Peterzan said. “Fitness is not letting us down.”

Harvard also found success in the main doubles draw. Peterzan and Rosecrans started things off with an 8-6 victory over Sarah Mayer and Jasleen Sandhu of Siena. It was a close match, with the lead changing five times before Harvard finally closed it out.

According to Peterzan, the Crimson duo played better in its second-round contest against Brown’s fifth-ranked team of sisters Bianca and Carissa Aboubakare. Unfortunately, the improvement in play was not enough to secure the win, as Harvard took the loss 8-4.

“The Brown team stepped up,” Green said. “They played a better match.”

The results were nonetheless positive for the Crimson, especially considering Rosecrans and Peterzan had never before competed as doubles partners.

“I’m really impressed with how well they were able to pick it up immediately, step out there, and turn the key and start the ignition,” Green said.

In qualifying singles play Friday morning, Rosekrans failed to advance to the main draw. She fell to Richmond’s Joanna Matuszczyk, 7-5, 6-2.

“[Rosekrans] did a pretty good job of mixing things up as far as tempo and strategy go,” coach Traci Green said, “But her opponent got the best of her that day.”

Having failed as a team to qualify for the ITA Indoor National Championships next month, Harvard’s fall season has come to a close. But their final tournament has given the Crimson a good look at the top teams from its region, and it prepares for dual meet competition beginning in January with a positive mindset.

“Looking around at all the other players, we can definitely hold our own and pull off quite a few upsets,” Peterzan said. “This is going to be a year of big improvement.”