Women's Tennis Drops Bears in Sweep

Four days after notching its biggest victory of the season, the Harvard women’s tennis team continued its winning ways with a 7-0 victory over Brown in Providence, R.I., Thursday. The team lost only two sets combined in singles and doubles play and put the match away early, taking the doubles point and then running through three singles matches before taking the remaining three matches.

“I’m really proud of our team and the way that it competed today,” Crimson coach Traci Green said. “I feel that we are peaking right now, which is great.”

The team had its match—previously scheduled for last weekend—delayed due to the MIT shooting which had area residents waiting indoors until law enforcement was able to apprehend the suspects. The postponement forced the team into an unusual weekday match, but Green said that the team was flexible and moved its weekly plans accordingly, completing all assignments early and making the necessary mental adjustments.

“I really commend the way that our players handled the difficult schedule this week,” Green said.

The squad’s chance at the Ivy League title was eliminated Sunday when Columbia defeated Princeton, meaning co-captains Hideko Tachibana and Kristin Norton lost their last shot at a league title—a goal the team had set throughout the season.

After Thursday’s victory, the team now sits one game behind Yale for second place in the league, though it holds the tiebreak after its 5-2 victory over the No. 35 Bulldogs on Sunday. With a win Saturday and a Yale loss, Harvard will clinch second in the league.

Despite the impossibility of a title, Tachibana continued fighting. She fought off four match points while coming back from a 9-5 deficit in the final set tiebreak to defeat Brown’s Misia Krasowski, 7-5, 3-6, 11-9.

“[When I get down match point], I focus on not focusing on anything,” Tachibana said. “It is really easy to let the pressure get to you and I like to clear my head and let it be automatic.”

Tachibana said that matches are much different from practice, in which players can swing freely—even in practice points and matches—without as much fear of losing. In Ivy League play, where only seven matches decide the league title, players do not have the same luxury, according to the co-captain.

“A match is completely different from practice because the points count and matter,” Tachibana said. “There is a lot more tension in the match and especially in the Ivy League everyone knows that every point they play really matters and there’s a lot more pressure. Depending on the player, it might be a motivator or a driver to help you win and I think most players on the team are like that and have to step it up when it matters.”

In doubles, the new pairing of freshman Amanda Lin and Tachibana at the top spot suffered an 8-2 setback against Brown after debuting last Sunday. Prior to that match, Green decided to replace Norton with Lin at the top spot with Tachibana. Playing with new partner sophomore Sylvia Li, Norton won with two breaks, 8-4, over the duo’s opponents and freshman Hai-Li Kong and junior Hannah Morrill sealed the doubles point with an 8-1 victory.

In singles, the team’s three freshmen continued their strong play. Lin scored a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Brown’s Olivia Hsu. The win was Lin’s 15th straight for the team and her 10th playing on line six for the Crimson. Freshman Amy He defeated Brown’s Hannah Camhi at the second position, 6-4, 6-3, and Kong maintained strong play after an easy 6-1 first set to take out Sarah Kandath, 7-6 (7-5), in the second set. Norton ceded only two games to her opponent in a pair of 6-1 set victories at line three and Li got late breaks in both sets to defeat Ammu Mandalap, 7-5, 6-4.

Green said that the two co-captains have been the driving force behind the team’s recent three-game winning streak, which includes a victory over its archrival, Yale.

“Our two seniors are the heart and soul of our team,” Green said. “Where they go the team goes. We are peaking right now and our team peaking has a lot to do with the experience that we have…. When we are healthy and confident, we know that nothing can stop us.”

—Staff writer David Freed can be reached at davidfreed@college.harvard.edu. Follow him on Twitter @CrimsonDPFreed.