Women\u2019s tennis (10-6, 0-1 Ivy League) fell to Dartmouth (12-4, 1-0 Ivy) on Sunday, which began its official Ivy League season. After a streak of non-conference wins, the Crimson was unable to overcome the Big Green in Hanover, NH.<\/p>\n
Harvard began the match on a strong note by securing the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. The doubles team of freshman Claire Shao and junior Kate Kim was bested by Dartmouth with a 6-4 result. However, junior Natalie Block and sophomore Natasha Rajaram shut down the effort on court three, earning a 6-3 win. This left the point up to junior captain Stephanie Yakoff and junior Kavya Karra, who did not disappoint. In a contentious match, the junior pair bested their opponents, juniors Peyton Capuano and Michela Moore, 7-5, which put one point on the board for the Crimson.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe edged them in doubles by handling the big points better,\u201d wrote head coach Traci Green after the game.<\/p>\n
Singles play proved more challenging for Harvard, with the Big Green fighting to close the gap. The two teams entered a competitive singles match, with the Crimson and Dartmouth making each point count.<\/p>\n
The Big Green was initially successful on the third court, where Shao struggled to overcome her competition. Her match concluded with a 6-2, 6-1 loss, which evened the score.<\/p>\n
Harvard was pushed even further with the sequential loss on court one, where Yakoff dropped her sets 6-3, 6-0, to put Dartmouth in the lead.<\/p>\n
It was on court six where the Crimson fought back. Freshman Andra Braicu bested the Big Green opposition 6-2, 6-3, in straight sets, tying the score once more.<\/p>\n
Karra was fighting on court two, but was unable to overcome her opponent and dropped her sets 6-2, 6-3.<\/p>\n
On court five, Block turned up the heat on Dartmouth sophomore Sam Grosjean. After earning the first set 6-3, the junior entered a tiebreak where she fought hard to earn the point. Besting Grosjean 7-6, 7-5 in the second set, the match was tied at 3-3 and could have gone either way.<\/p>\n
This meant that the final determination came down to Kim on court four, who won her first set 6-4. Her opponent, sophomore Lauren Han, found a way to flip the score in the second, making the third and final set the one that would determine the match.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for the Crimson, the set went to Han 6-2, which meant that the match concluded in the Big Green\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn singles, Dartmouth competed very well like we expected, and we need to do a better job embracing pressure and executing in key moments,\u201d wrote Green. \u201cCredit to Dartmouth, they stayed composed throughout the match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking forward, Harvard will compete against Ivy League rivals No. 58 Princeton (13-2, 1-0) and the University of Pennsylvania (9-8, 0-1) next weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe now need to regroup and prepare for Princeton and Penn. Taking one match at a time is our mindset and learning as much as we can each weekend.\u201d Green wrote.<\/p>\n