Anderson had the opportunity to clinch the team’s victory in her match against Schutte, as she won the first set 7-5 and led the second set 5-3, but her opponent fought back and captured the set by a score of 7-5. She was down 3-0 in the third set by the time Durkin defeated Jones.

“You have to give some credit to [Schutte],” Graham said. “It’s hard to come back like that, [and] Melissa is a very tough competitor.”

Harvard will face its most difficult opponent to date in its Sweet 16 match against No. 1 Stanford, which is undefeated on the season. The Crimson went head-to-head with the Cardinal (23-0) in February, and lost 5-2 despite strong performances by Durkin and Anderson in doubles and Wang and sophomore Preethi Mukundan in singles.

Though the odds on paper may not be in Harvard’s favor, the team is anxious for the rematch and believes that it has what it takes to pull an upset.

“I’m really thrilled for this match,” Durkin said. “We have so much confidence and have a better chance now than earlier in the year to win.”

The Crimson will take on Stanford on Thursday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.

—Staff writer Barbara R. Barreno can be reached at barreno@fas.harvard.edu.