“I started playing the way I needed to play tennis,” Bergman said. “I was keeping the ball deep and playing super aggressive today.”
Bajin’s Storybook Ending
With her 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 5, Bajin finished 19-0 for the season in singles. But, although that feat was more unique historically, Bajin classified her first Ivy title as the greater achievement.
“It’s great that I finished undefeated and I won the clinching the match, but it was the team title we were all looking for,” Bajin said. “If I had to give up winning my match today to get the Ivy title I would have done it, but it’s great that this comes along with it.”
Given the opportunity, she wanted to win the Ivy championship point. Bajin was well aware as she fought to close out her match that Martire was a game away from winning hers.
“I knew when I was at match point that Alexis was almost done, and I wanted to win the clinching match,” Bajin said. “Maybe that’s what made me lose my focus a little. It took me a couple points.”
Penn’s No. 6 Sanela Kunovac, like Bajin, was her team’s No. 1 player two years ago. But unlike Bajin, she failed to bounce back from injuries a year ago to post a consistent season this year. Kunovac fell 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to Harvard’s Anderson in what was a tough match to play mentally because it was slowed by Kunovac’s injury timeouts.
It’s Not Over Yet
Bajin said that although winning the Ivy title was the Crimson’s primary goal, the team has no intention of stopping there.
Harvard will play in the NCAA tournament on May 9 or May 10. The selection will be announced on April 30. Graham is hoping Harvard will be selected as one of the 16 teams to host a four-team regional. The Crimson, with wins over three top-25 teams this year, is also in the running to be one of the top regional seeds—and hence one of 16 national seeds.
The regional winners all advance to the 16-team NCAA Championships in Gainesville, Fl. Getting there will be Harvard’s next goal, but the team will wait until Wednesday to resume practicing for it. There are still two more days of celebration and relaxation left to come.
—Staff writer David R. De Remer can be reached at remer@fas.harvard.edu.