First Win Remains Elusive For Harvard

In the first two games of the dual-match season, Harvard women’s tennis (0-3) dominated doubles play against high-ranked teams. It was singles that gave the Crimson fits.

But in a 4-3 loss to Boston University (3-0) on Sunday, Harvard’s strengths and weaknesses reversed themselves, as the squad struggled in the doubles portion but played solid singles. The team was only one point away from victory, but the Terriers refused to give the Crimson any easy outs. All of the BU victories came in straight sets.

“We have to hand it to Boston University,” Crimson coach Traci Green said. “They really played better today.”

The outcome of the contest came down to the No. 5 singles match between Harvard sophomore Elizabeth Brook and Terrier sophomore Liz Corrao. Leading the Crimson, 3-1, in overall points, BU needed just one more victory for the win. That single victory was exactly what the squad got, as Corrao controlled Brook 6-1, 6-2.

With the victory already secured, the Terriers proceeded to drop the next two singles matches to make the overall score a 4-3 final. The three singles victories for Harvard, coming from junior Beier Ko, junior Laura Peterzan, and freshman Samantha Rosekrantz, were the first singles victories of the season for each of the players. At No. 1, Ko thrashed Francine Whu 6-2, 6-1, while in the No. 2 slot, Peterzan outlasted Vanessa Steiner, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, and at No. 6, Rosekrantz overwhelmed Dasha Zakharchenko 6-3, 6-2.

In the first two games of the season, only freshman Agnes Sibilski and captain Stephanie Schnitter had prevailed in singles.

“We’re proud to see more people wining,” Green said.

Sibilski, who is undefeated in both singles and doubles play this season, did not play against BU. The reason for her absence was not disclosed.

At the end of the day, the singles matches were split: three wins for the Crimson, three wins for the Terriers. The deciding factor of the match and an area that needs improvement, according to Green, was the doubles portion.

“In doubles we played below our level,” Green said. “We just made too many errors and when you make errors you’ll loose the doubles points.”

In a three-match sweep, BU took the doubles point. Both the pairing of Ko and Peterzan in the No. 1 slot and the team of Brook and senior and former Crimson photography executive Vilsa Curto at No. 3 suffered 8-6 defeats. In the No. 2 spot, Schnitter and junior Catriona Stewart were taken down 8-5. The loss is Stewart’s first doubles defeat of the season.

“[The Terriers] came out with a flow in doubles and we didn’t execute on some of our easy balls,” Green said.

The BU win is the second straight for the Terriers over Harvard in as many years, but before last season, the Crimson had dominated the matchup, winning four in a row. Despite last season’s loss and the shared home of Beantown, Harvard had no real thirst for revenge on Sunday.

“It’s a brand new season,” Green said. “Only three people on the team were here last year.”

Green stressed that the goal of the match was in fact improvement, not revenge.

“We wanted to improve from our last match and we improved in many ways in singles,” Green said. “We’re getting better every week and will hopefully peak in April.”

Although the team improved in singles, the squad seemed to worsen in doubles. If the Crimson can combine its newfound confidence in singles with its old, consistent play in doubles, however, it might become a serious threat.

“We just need to put it all together,” Green said. “We feel it’s going to be soon.”

The Crimson will be back in action next Saturday against Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., before traveling to Williamsburg, Va. the following Monday.

—Staff writer Jake I. Fisher can be reached at jifisher@fas.harvard.edu.