W. Tennis Defends Ivy Crown, on to NCAA's

All season, the Harvard women's tennis team's motto has been "Make a statement." Yesterday, the Crimson (11-10, 7-0 Ivy) made good on its word by beating Dartmouth (9-8, 2-4 Ivy) 6-3 in the Murr Center to claim its second consecutive Ivy League title.

"This team has come of age this season," Harvard Coach Gordon Graham said. "They never got down and battled in every match."

Playing without star captain Ivy Wang, Harvard faced a tenacious Dartmouth squad. While not a league contender this year, Dartmouth boasted several high-quality singles players and displayed an equally-determined attitude.

"It was tough match, but we came together and everyone gave 100 percent," Wang said. "Dartmouth has had losses, but we knew they'd all been close."

Harvard led 4-1 after a tense and hotly contested singles round. Needing only one doubles victory to clinch the title, the Crimson won two of three pairs matches to bring the final tally to 6-3.

Freshman Andrea Magyera, playing in the No. 2 slot for the Crimson, dominated her Dartmouth counterpart Allison Taff, 6-2, 6-2, to finish her Ivy season undefeated in singles play. Mixing powerful groundstrokes with deft backhand drop shots, Magyera made quick work of Taff.

"I just wanted to start on the right note," Magyera said. "I think we all came out strong in the singles matches."

Junior No. 1 Vedica Jain battled Dartmouth ace Rebecca Dirksen, losing narrowly, 7-6, 2-6, 6-4. Dirksen also completed an undefeated Ivy season for the Big Green.

"I knew it would be tough, but I had a lot of confidence going in," Jain said.

Coincidentally, Jain and Dirksen attended secondary and elementary school together and shared the same coach during those years.

Jain is one of three Harvard players that have rotated through the No. 1 slot this season due to a shoulder injury to Wang. Wang has been an All-Ivy selection in each of her seasons, was last year's Ivy League Player of the Year, and was Rookie of the Year.

"Ivy is incredible, as a player and a teammate," Jain said. "We're all going to miss her. Nobody can replace her."

Wang's injury is one of many injuries the Harvard squad has battled this year, as freshman Jennie Timoney was also lost from the starting line-up.

"This year has been a battle at every spot," Graham said. "We've had to win without Ivy before, and you never know who will step up."

Freshman Sarah McGinty was one Crimson player who answered the call, moving up from her usual double slot to play No. 6 singles as well. McGinty showed no signs of nervousness in dispatching her Dartmouth opponent in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

Sophomore Sanaz Ghazal, in the No. 3 spot, and freshman Fleur Broughton, in the No. 4, also earned straight-set victories. Ghazal rallied from behind in both sets to win, 6-4, 6-4. Broughton also battled before sealing a 7-5, 6-4 win.

Dartmouth's second singles point came in Caroline Bashleben's victory over junior Roxanna Curto, 6-1, 6-1in the No. 5 slot.

In the decisive doubles round, the excitement in the Murr Center was palpable as the Crimson pairs seemed to be racing each other to clinch the title.

"We were so fired up," Jain said. "Andrea [Magyera] and I wanted to be the ones who won it. We knew we needed one more."

Despite this intensity and determination, the first pair faced a formidable opponent in Dartmouth's due of Dirksen and Taff. After jumping out to a 7-4 lead in the race to eight games, Jain and Magyera were unable to put away a 40-0 match point.

Two courts away, the Harvard pairing of McGinty and junior Kristin Flink, filling in for Curto, who suffered a sprained ankle in her singles match, steadily worked toward the clinching victory. Coming back from an early deficit, Flink and McGinty served and volleyed their way to an 8-5 win to seal the title.

As if bolstered by their teammate's victory, Jain and Magyera broke serve in a tense deuce battle to win 8-5 as well.

"We knew we had to close it out," Jain said. "We knew we had to fight to get that last point."

"Dirksen is even tougher in doubles," Magyera said. "But we were ready. We faced tough competition earlier in the season, and it paid off here."

The Crimson's spring break trip was full of top-25 competition, and the difficult early games had prepared the squad for these Ivy battles.

"We had a lot of early losses, but against very good teams," Graham said. "To their credit, this team never got down. This match was a battle just like all the others."

After the match the players celebrated at center court, holding aloft the Ivy trophy. This year's title is Harvard's fourth in five years and 13th in the 19 years of Ivy League competition.

The Crimson will receive an automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA tournament. Harvard will learn its fate next Wednesday when pairings are announced, and the team said it is looking forward to the challenge of a regional tournament.

"It all depends on our seed," Graham said. "If we get a number three seed instead of number four, we have a great chance. We've been playing with more confidence in the last month than all season long, and you never know."

"We've got nothing to lose," Jain said. "We've just got so much confidence."

Riding the momentum of its new title, this team seems ready to make another statement.