Coming into Friday’s match against Brown (15-7, 3-2 Ivy) and yesterday’s match at No. 46 Yale (15-6, 4-2), the Harvard women’s tennis team found itself at a critical juncture in its season. With its loss to No. 28 Princeton (20-5, 7-0) last weekend, the squad witnessed an Ivy League title fall out of its control.

But the Crimson knows that if it wants to qualify for the NCAA tournament, it has to consistently deliver top performances for the remainder of the season. Entering the weekend in a four-way tie in the Ivy League standings with Brown, Yale, and Dartmouth (16-4, 3-2), No. 56 Harvard (13-7, 5-1) knew it needed crucial victories against the Bears and Bulldogs to inch closer to an NCAA berth.

And the Crimson got those wins, topping Brown, 5-2, before pulling out a tight 4-3 win over Yale to move into sole possession of second place.

HARVARD 4, YALE 3

Earlier this season at the ECAC Championships, Yale produced a decisive 6-1 win over the Crimson. The two old rivals faced off again yesterday, and this time around, Harvard was a different team with a different outlook. Willing to put the past to rest, the Crimson had just one goal on its mind—a victory that would bridge the gap to a potential NCAA tournament spot.

With a close 4-3 win against Yale at Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Conn., the squad moved closer to turning those NCAA dreams into reality.

Harvard won the doubles point for its third-consecutive match, polishing a facet of its game that it has frequently struggled with this season. The first doubles duo of sophomore Holly Cao and junior captain Samantha Rosekrans and the second doubles team of freshmen Kristin Norton and Hideko Tachibana each drew 8-3 wins over their opponents.

“We lost to Yale at the ECACs, and that really motivated us,” Cao said. “In doubles, we really stuck together as a team and just kept believing that we could beat Yale.”

In singles, No. 61 Cao fell, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to the Bulldogs’ Vicky Brook at No. 1.

But at No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5, the balls bounced the Crimson’s way. Tachibana defeated Stephanie Kent, 7-6 (5), 6-3, at No. 2. Junior Agnes Sibilski charged back at No. 5 after dropping the first set, 6-2, to claim matching 6-3 wins in the second and third sets.

But the pivotal clinching victory appropriately came down to the captain’s court. Despite losing a close tiebreaker in the first set, Rosekrans exemplified both her resiliency and leadership by posting 6-4, 6-3 wins in the second and third sets, respectively.

Harvard’s win dealt Yale’s ambitions of an at-large NCAA tourney bid a major blow. Princeton, on the other hand, has already clinched an automatic NCAA spot and the outright Ivy League title.

“We do have a really good shot [at an NCAA berth],” Rosekrans said. “We hadn’t focused on that too much before in order to not get distracted. But if we end up winning against Dartmouth [on Wednesday], then I think we have a really good chance.”

HARVARD 5, BROWN 2

On Friday afternoon at the Murr Center, Harvard toppled Brown, 5-2.