Karra and Yakoff Down No. 5 Doubles Duo, Women’s Tennis Splits its Wisconsin Weekend

Harvard (3-2, 0-0 Ivy League) went into a two-match weekend in Wisconsin on the tails of tough Boston-based competition. The Crimson lost its match against the University of Wisconsin-Madison (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) 0-4, but conquered the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (0-2, 0-0 Horizon League) 4-0.

Harvard 0, Wisconsin Madison 4

Harvard began its midwestern weekend by taking on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers.

Off the bat, doubles proved a challenge for Harvard, with the Badgers claiming two out of three of the matches at 6-3, 6-3, to earn their first point.

On court one, Harvard junior captain Stephanie Yakoff and junior Kavya Karra, however, overcame Wisconsin’s fifth nationally ranked pair of senior Maria Sholokova and freshman Lucie Urbanova in a 6-2 set.

While the Crimson failed to earn the doubles point, Yakoff and Karra succeeded in rattling the Badgers with the upset win. The match continued a stretch of success for the two juniors, who won the ITA New England Regionals and headed to the NCAA Doubles Round of 32 in the fall of 2024.

That said, Wisconsin’s lead on the scoreboard after doubles play meant that Harvard entered the later singles stretch at a disadvantage.

The Badgers were unrelenting on singles courts three, four, and six, sweeping the first sets 6-0. Rallies at all of the courts were long and competitive, pushing both Harvard and Wisconsin players to hit aggressively.

On the first court, No. 49 Yakoff engaged in a tough battle against No. 47 Sholokova. The Crimson’s captain struggled against the Sochi, Russia native, who has been ranked in the top five of all singles players in the country during her collegiate career. The match between the teams’ top two players ended 6-1, 6-1 in favor of the Badgers.

Harvard fought for redemption in the second sets, with players like junior Kate Kim and freshman Andra Braicu keeping the score level with their opponents.

Although the later games were more even between the Crimson and the Badgers, the Wisconsin team was able to secure the sweep.

Notably, Braicu fought neck and neck with her opponent on court six, junior Ellison Reynoldsen, tying and at times even leading in points before ending her second set at 5-5.

Harvard’s match ultimately finished with the conclusion of Yakoff’s set, and as a result of Wisconsin’s wins on courts one, three, and four, the match ended at 4-0 in favor of the Badgers.

Harvard 4, Wisconsin Milwaukee 0

The Crimson played its second Wisconsin-based match against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which had also lost to Wisconsin-Madison in a doubleheader for the Badgers the previous evening. Sunday’s match took place on the neutral Nielsen Stadium courts.

Harvard earned the doubles point without much difficulty.

From a decisive 6-0 victory by doubles partners Natalie Block and freshman Claire Shao, to a similar 6-3 win on court one by Yakoff and Karra, it was clear that the Crimson came into Sunday with a clear winning mentality.

The doubles success can largely be attributed to good teamwork between all of Harvard’s pairs, who made use of the court and forced errors from their respective Wisconsin-Milwaukee opponents.

“Our doubles positioning was something we wanted to work on,” said the Crimson’s Head Coach, Traci Green, after the match.

“We’re looking to build each match,” the coach added.

Harvard’s momentum from doubles carried into the singles matches, as the start proved to be no different, with the Crimson taking an early lead on all courts.

Kim finished her first set 6-0 on court five, successful due to her strong service games and overall consistency. The junior’s swift first set seemed to set the tone for Harvard, as shortly after, Braicu ended her set 6-1, and Karra 6-2, both in the Crimson’s favor.

As some first sets were still continuing, Kim ended her second in just 20 minutes with another dominant 6-0 win, placing Harvard at 2-0 on the overall match scoreboard.

Braicu also completed her match with a 6-0 second win, notching Harvard’s third point of the day.

Meanwhile, on the third court, sophomore Natasha Rajaram gave up her lead against the Panthers’ junior Emilia Durska and entered a close tiebreak, which she won 7-5 for a 7-6 set victory.

With Harvard so close to the necessary four points, it was up to Shao, Yakoff, Karra, or Rajaram to finish out the day.

Shao had outplayed her opponent to win 6-3 in the first set, and continued to use her powerful forehand to hit balls that her opponent had difficulty returning.

Whilst Shao held a significant 5-2 lead, the clinching honor went to the captain, Yakoff, who ended with a 6-1 victory on her service game.

“I just tried to play to my strengths, and it worked out,” the captain said when asked about her rebound win.

With the victory, the team, which Yakoff described as “one big, happy family,” proved that it could bounce back after a brutal loss.

“I always try to bring good energy, and I try to support my teammates on and off the court,” Yakoff added.

Next weekend, the Crimson will compete in the ECAC Championships in Princeton, N.J. Last year, Harvard had mixed results in the tournament, recording a dominant performance against Dartmouth before dropping matches to Columbia and Princeton.

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