This past weekend, Harvard (6-5) traveled to Memphis, Tenn., and took on two southern-based teams. In its first match, the Crimson conquered Southeast Missouri State University (5-7) with a blowout 7-0 win. The Harvard team then continued its sweeping success with a 4-0 victory over the University of Memphis (0-8) on Sunday.

Harvard 7, Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) 0

The match began on a high note for Harvard, as sophomore Natasha Rajaram and junior Natalie Block earned the first doubles set in the Crimson’s favor on court three. The duo began the match with a 6-2 victory over SEMO sophomore Mia Mayerová and junior Maja Bajorek.

Junior captain Stephanie Yakoff and junior Kavya Karra, ranked No. 45 in the country, officially put a point on the board with their 6-1 win over junior Juliette Demunck and graduate student Kristina Kozakova at the top court.

While their match did not continue due to a Crimson clinch on courts one and three, freshman Claire Shao and junior Kate Kim also held a significant 5-2 lead over their opponents on the second court.

Singles play proved no different for the Crimson, with an across-the-board sweep of all points on the individual scale.

Karra was first to set the tone by defeating SEMO’s Demunck in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1.

No. 71 Yakoff matched her doubles partner’s success by tallying the Crimson’s third point at the top spot in singles.

Kim was able to clinch the victory for Harvard on the sixth court, triumphing 6-4, 6-0.

The two teams continued to play on, however, enabling Harvard to add more points to the scoreboard. Shao on court three and Rajaram on court five had mirrored scores of 6-4, 6-2, which brought the Crimson up to six points to SEMO’s zero.

The seventh and final point of the day was added by sophomore Anna-Raphaelle Serghi, who cranked through her match, winning 6-3, 6-3.

Harvard 4, University of Memphis 0

The second match of the weekend also began in the Crimson’s favor, with the doubles point secured by Harvard’s second doubles teams of Kim and Shao on the second court, and Block and Rajaram on the third.

Kim and Shao found success against the Tigers’ pair of freshman Natalia Koppova and sophomore Rebecca Frant with a 6-3 victory. Block and Rajaram took their match to 5-all before edging out their opponents to clinch the doubles point for Harvard.

For the second day in a row, critical match points were earned by Karra, Yakoff, and Kim at the No. 2, No. 1, and No. 5 spots, respectively.

“Kate Kim stands out as someone who has really jumped a couple of levels over the past week,” Harvard Head Coach Traci Green wrote. “She put together a strong week of practice with our coaching staff, and it was great to see that hard work translate into her performance.”

Karra secured the first singles point for the Crimson with an assertive 6-2, 6-1 straight-sets win. The junior only dropped four games in singles over the course of the weekend.

Yakoff, too, took her first set 6-4 against Memphis sophomore Sofiia Mykhailets, and her finsihed her second 6-1.

On the other courts, the Crimson found itself in tighter matches.

Harvard singles No. 3 Shao and No. 4 sophomore Anna-Raphaelle Serghi both dropped their first sets to the Tigers, but flipped the results in their second. Shao, who had lost 5-7, came back for a 6-3 win in her second set. Serghi also rebounded from an initial 6-3 loss to win her second 6-2.

“Our group stayed focused, handled the adversity, and showed clear signs that we’re continuing to improve,” the coach wrote.

Rajaram on court six also had mixed results in her sets, winning 6-2 in the first, but dropping the second 2-6.

While all of those matches stretched into third sets, Kim clinched the match, capping off the weekend with a 6-3, 6-4 win.

“I’m really proud of our team’s performance over the weekend. We battled hard on the road, and that’s never easy with a short turnaround, late-night travel, and weather uncertainty,” Green wrote.

After not conceding a single match during its dominant weekend in Tennessee, the Crimson looks forward to its upcoming home match against Quinnipiac University (1-4) on Feb. 28.

—Staff writer Bianca Egan can be reached at [email protected].