Cao Falls in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament

Every season must come to an end. Holly Cao’s arrived yesterday afternoon.

The Harvard sophomore met her match in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Singles Championship at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

73rd-ranked Cao, the sole Ivy League representative in the field of 64, fell to 13th-ranked Maria Mosolova in three sets.

“I thought Holly competed really well,” Crimson coach Traci Green said. “It’s an honor to be representing the Ivy League in the NCAAs, and she did a great job….Holly really matched Maria stroke for stroke from the baseline, and she really competed well.”

Mosolova, a Northwestern junior who is looking to gain All-American status for the third time in as many years, took initial control of the match with a 6-3 first set.

But Cao, the top-ranked player in the Northeast region, regrouped and came back strong in the second to take a 2-1 lead. She continued on to win the set, 6-1.

“I think I played pretty well in the second set,” Cao said. “I was more consistent, and I was being more aggressive.”

But Mosolova would not be denied her 22nd singles victory this spring, taking the decisive third set, 6-2.

“I just didn’t pull it out in the third,” Cao said. “I didn’t play as well as I would have liked.”

Cao’s first-team All-Ivy season ended with a 15-4 record in dual matches before yesterday’s loss, including a 5-2 mark in Ivy League contests. She is now 22-7 in spring singles matches in her collegiate career.

The top Harvard player’s loss to Mosolova was her first individual NCAA Championship appearance, which continues a nine-year streak of a Crimson woman earning a bid to the individual tournament. Previously, Harvard was represented by Beier Ko ’09 (2007-2009), Eva Wang ’06 (2006), Courtney Bergman ’05 (2003-2005), and Susanna Lingman ’05 (2002).

“I feel honored to represent Harvard at the national championships,” Cao said. “I really want to come back to this tournament for the next two years.”

“She’s excited about working hard to get back here next year,” Green added. “It was a great experience for her, and she’s definitely looking to build on that for next year.”

Mosolova, who was the preseason’s top-ranked player, now has seven career victories in the NCAA Championships.

“She is a very good player,” Cao said. “She has a very consistent backhand.”

Mosolova advances to play North Carolina’s Katrina Tsang this afternoon.

—Staff writer Eric L. Michel can be reached at emichel@fas.harvard.edu.