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.
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