No. 69 Women’s Tennis Beats No. 49 Columbia, Loses To Cornell in Season Finale

No. 69 Harvard women’s tennis split its final two matches of the season this weekend, defeating No. 49 Columbia 4-1 on Saturday at the Beren Tennis Center but falling to Cornell 4-2 on Sunday’s senior day in the Murr Center.

The Crimson (12-10, 2-5 Ivy) notably dealt a major blow to the postseason hopes of the higher-ranked Lions (15-5, 5-2), who entered the weekend near the bubble of the 34 at-large teams who join 30 conference champions in the 64-team women’s tennis NCAA Tournament.

Typically, the cut-off for at-large teams hovers around the 40-rank mark of the ITA poll, and Harvard’s victory will likely push Columbia below that position in the April 21 poll, which is the final iteration before the tournament field is determined on April 27.

Just the next day, though, the host appeared to be a shell of its previous self and allowed Cornell (8-12, 1-6) to pick up its first conference win of the season in dominant fashion.

Still missing key players — junior captain Stephanie Yakoff and senior Charlotte Owensby — due to injuries, the Crimson lacked the firepower necessary to outlast the Big Red in its second match of the weekend.

“Charlotte was out of the lineup for the entire spring season, and with that immediate loss, everyone was forced to step up in ways that weren’t planned,” head coach Traci Green wrote. “Navigating that, along with a few other absences, pushed us to compete in new ways and rely on each other in a deeper, more meaningful way that strengthened us from the inside out.”

“I’m really proud of this group, especially the progress we made in our doubles, the flexibility we showed in both our lineup and mindset, and the grit we brought every single week.”

Playing as doubles partners and defeating Columbia at the top of the ladder on Saturday, sophomore Natasha Rajaram and junior Natalie Block starred in Harvard’s final two matches. In addition to going undefeated in doubles play, both Block and Rajaram won their singles matches, spurring the duo to a perfect 4-0 weekend.

Harvard 4, Columbia 1

The Crimson hit the courts for its first match of the weekend against the ranked Lions on the Beren Center’s outdoor courts.

Doubles play began with a loss on the third court by freshman Andra Braicu and junior Kavya Karra. Luckily for the home team’s fans, though, the Crimson was quick to make up the deficit with a 6-4 win by Block and Rajaram on the first court. Notably, Karra typically plays doubles with Yakoff, and the junior-junior duo is currently ranked 42nd in the country.

This left the doubles point down to a contentious match on court two, with freshman Claire Shao and junior Kate Kim battling for the win with every point. The set went to a six-all tiebreak that neither team could truly dominate. The duo played 24 total points during their tiebreak, finally edging out the Lions with a 13-11 win to secure the doubles win.

Kim and Shao’s gritty victory set the tone moving into singles, with Harvard outplaying Columbia consistently.

The Lions’ first and only point was owed to a loss at the third spot by Kim, who fell in straight sets to senior Sophia Wang.

The Crimson did not allow the score to remain tied for long, with Shao and Block reestablishing a lead shortly after.

Shao, playing at the second spot, earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over her Columbia rival. Rajaram similarly claimed a point of her own with straight sets, bringing the win within Harvard’s reach.

The clinching honor of the day went to Karra in the first spot. The junior played long and consistent sets to earn the match for her team. After taking her first set 7-5, she clutched a 6-4 second set to win the overall match with a score of 4-1.

Harvard 2, Cornell 4

Cold and misty weather on an outright dreary Sunday morning pushed Harvard’s senior day festivities and its home finale to the indoor courts at the Murr Center. Owensby, Harvard’s sole senior, was joined by her parents for a pre-match ceremony.

Owensby’s accolades in her time with the Crimson include the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award and an All-Ivy singles honorable mention in her junior year.

“When our number one player, senior Charlotte Owensby, is in the lineup, she immediately changes the dynamic on both the singles and doubles courts. Her serve and ball striking set her apart from most opponents, and she gives everyone around her confidence right away,” Green wrote. “We’re going to miss her tremendously next year.”

Despite her injury, Harvard’s senior participated in a brief exhibition doubles match with sophomore Anna-Raphaëlle Serghi against the Big Red, which drew a raucous Crimson cheering section.

“It was great to see her get back out there for an exhibition match this season, even in a limited way,” Green added.

While Owensby and Serghi coasted to victory in their off-the-record exhibition match, doubles did not go as well for the rest of the Crimson team. Block and Rajaram sailed to a 6-1 win on court two, but after Shao and Kim fell 6-4 on court one, the doubles point came down to Braicu and Karra on court three.

Midway through the set, a bloody nose for Karra forced the match to be paused, and Cornell was able to break Braicu shortly afterwards to tie the set at 4-4. Strong poaching play at the net by Big Red senior Emma Baker allowed the visitors to take a 5-4 lead, then Cornell broke Karra’s serve at love to claim the doubles point.

Harvard got off to a slow start in singles, as Rajaram was bagelled in the first set on the fifth court, and both Shao and Kim fell in straights on court two and court three, respectively. Block followed by closing out a 6-2, 6-4 win on court four, before Rajaram completed a massive 0-6, 6-2, 6-1 come-from-behind victory on the fifth court.

Throughout the match, Rajaram settled in against a Cornell opponent who started hot, frustrating her adversary and getting progressively better as the match went on.

Harvard still was against the 8-ball, though, as both Karra on court one and Braicu on court six were down a set. In the end, Braicu fell to Baker 7-6, 6-4, enabling the Big Red to snag the clinching point.

“By the end, we were competing at a higher level, coming off a big win over Columbia, but we simply ran out of gas in our final match,” Green wrote. “That doesn’t take away from the growth this team showed all year or the grit each and every player brought every single week.”

Harvard concluded its season with a 12-10 overall record and a 2-5 Ivy League mark. Following a dominant 2024-2025 season that saw the Crimson win the Ancient Eight with an undefeated record, Harvard experienced challenges due to injuries that necessitated shifts in lineups.

However, after playing without Owensby for the entire spring season, a relatively young Crimson squad expected to retain all of its spring players will be prepared to go back into contention for a conference title and vie for a spot in the NCAA Tournament next year.

—Staff writer Bianca M. Egan can be reached at [email protected].
—Staff writer Samuel S. Rudavsky can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @samrudavsky.