As a team, Harvard's best match of the year arguably came against another non-league opponent, defeating perennial powerhouse Virginia at the Murr Center. Junior Sarah McGinty and Naqushbandi earned Harvard the first point of the match, recovering to win 9-7 at third doubles to give the Crimson the doubles point. Ghazal and Bajin easily won their match at first doubles, 8-3, but McGinty and Naqushbandi knew their match would decide which team earned the precious doubles point after juniors Andrea Magyera and Fleur Broughton could not hold on at second doubles, dropping their match 8-4.
To compound Graham's worries, after squeaking by with a win in the doubles, Harvard lost its first two singles matches and trailed in three others after a set. It appeared as though Harvard would only win Bajin's point at first singles (who cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory to knot the match at 2-2) after an hour into singles action.
The team came together, however, executing one comeback after another to defeat No. 55 UVA in dramatic fashion. Broughton avenged her loss at second doubles earlier in the day, defeating Laura James 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in third singles. Ajilore was next to finish. Despite dropping the first set 0-6, the freshman gained her wits and smoked Kelly Weaver in sets two and three, overpowering Weaver with punishing forehands from the baseline. Ajilore won 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 to clinch the victory in the team match for Harvard. Though the outcome of the overall match was already decided, Jennie Timoney dusted off Christine Kim after losing her first set 3-6 to finish the day. Fueled by her teammates inspiring efforts, Timoney gave the squad a 5-2 overall team win, earning glory at No. 6 singles with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 triumph.
"UVA is a great team, and they had beaten us in the fall," Graham said. "Our team was determined and came through in the clutch for a big win."
Harvard will only get better next season. The Crimson returns five seniors. Broughton and Magyera will serve as next season's co-captains, while Naqushbandi, McGinty, and Timoney will all play in the everyday lineup.
But they will be pushed by an intriguing incoming freshman class. Courtney Bergman is the top-ranked American female tennis player heading to college this autumn. Highly recruited by superpower Stanford, Bergman chose to stay on the east coast, bolstering Harvard's lineup for next season. She will be joined by Susanna Lingman, ranked in the top 35 nationally and sought after by UCLA, Ashley Hyotte from Sudbury, Massachusetts, and Helis Zulijani from Croatia, who was once ranked No. 2 in the country's 16-and-under age group.
"We'll have lots of new talent. Combine them with our five seniors and you've got a nice mix of youth and experience," Graham said. "It's going to be fun to see what they can do."