In California, Women's Tennis Splits Opening Matches

After posting its best start to a season in nine years, the Harvard women’s tennis team (7-3) headed to California this week for its annual spring break trip.

Coming off a three-week break from action, the No. 37 Crimson split the first two matches of the trip, defeating Cal State Northridge (6-5) but falling to San Diego State (6-9).

“I think we’re doing pretty well,” Harvard freshman June Lee said. “We fought really hard and put in all of our 100 percent effort, which is what matters. I think we’re improving every day and working our way up to the level we want to be at.”

SAN DIEGO STATE 6, HARVARD 1

With one win already under its belt, Harvard could not keep the momentum going at the Aztec Tennis Center Wednesday night.

SDSU set the tone early, grabbing a quick lead with the doubles point. The Aztecs’ pairing of Laura Antonana Iriarte and Isabelle Hoorn defeated Amanda Lin and Amy He, 8-3, while Kristin Buth and Kennedy Davis earned a victory for SDSU by the same score.

The duo of Monica Lin and Spencer Liang, ranked No. 64 in the nation, obtained an 8-6 win on Court One, but by then, the Aztecs had already seized the point.

In singles play, SDSU remained in control, earning four separate wins in straight sets. After playing host to the longest doubles match, Court One held the shortest singles match, as Antonana Iriarte upended Liang, 6-1, 6-1. In addition, Dora Somoracz, Davis, and Hoorn all picked up points for the Aztecs.

“[SDSU’s] players were pretty tricky to play,” Lee said. “They all did something that threw us off a little bit, which I think is good because we’re definitely learning from this. We’ll obviously know what to do in the future when we come across players like [them].”

Crimson freshman Monica Lin served as the lone bright spot of the afternoon, recording a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Buth to remain unbeaten at the second singles position on the year.

“[Monica’s] been playing smart,” Lee said. “She’s been finding the weaknesses in her opponent, staying aggressive, and doing what she normally does, so she’s been doing great.”

Along with Lin, Lee went the distance with her opponent in what proved to be the final match of the night. She won the opening set over Aztec sophomore Tami Nguyen but could not keep it going, as she fell, 6-2, 2-6, 3-6.

“[Nguyen] had a pretty tricky, skiddy serve,” Lee said. “She liked using my pace, and I’m not really used to that.”

HARVARD 6, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 1

The Crimson picked up right where it left off prior to the break Tuesday night at Matador Tennis Complex. Harvard took two out of the three doubles matches to earn a point before running away with the contest in singles play.

The pairing of He and Amanda Lin opened the match with an 8-5 victory over Lorraine Cheung and Scout Shutter at the third doubles position. The Matadors, however, came right back, evening the score with an 8-5 win of their own from Mickey Hsu and Kristen Poei against Lee and Morrill.

But in the end, the doubles point went to the Crimson. At the first position, Liang and Monica Lin squeezed past Vivian Lin and Criss Rodriguez, 8-7, to give Harvard an early advantage.

“[CSNU] came out playing pretty strong doubles,” Lee said. “My partner and I lost, but our first position and third position doubles really picked it up.”

In singles action, the match of the afternoon was held on Court One between Liang and Vivian Lin. After dropping the opening set, Liang came back to win the second and then outlasted her opponent in a tiebreak to earn the victory, 5-7, 7-5, 10-8.

Beyond the first court, every other match concluded in just two sets. At second and third singles, Monica Lin and Lee notched wins 6-4, 6-2, and 6-2, 6-4, respectively. He also defeated Poei, 6-0, 6-3, and Lin overcame Jessica Warren, 6-4, 6-1.

The lone point of the day for Cal State was earned by freshman Scout Shutter, who achieved a 6-3, 6-2 victory at the fifth singles position.

—Staff writer Jake T. Meagher can be reached at jmeagher@college.harvard.edu.