“She really rebounded from her match against Northwestern,” Green said. “She took it upon herself to get the job done on her court today.”
The Broncos clinched the match when Samantha Gridley lost to Elyse Edwards on the No. 5 court, 6-1, 7-5.
Despite the team loss, Tachibana kept fighting against Sonia Klamczynska on the No. 2 court until she earned herself a 7-6, 6-4 win.
“[Tachibana] is really stepping up and becoming a leader on our team,” Green said. “She’s becoming more vocal and working not only on encouraging her teammates but also holding them accountable.”
NO. 20 NORTHWESTERN 5, HARVARD 0
On Saturday, the Crimson squared off against a Northwestern squad featuring four of the 125 top women in the ITA rankings. Despite its effort, the team could not earn a point.
“We really respect them as opponents,” Green said. “Northwestern just competed much better than we did. We need to find a way to win next time.”
In doubles, on the No. 3 court, Morrill and Norton lost two late service games to fall, 8-5. Cao and Rosekrans also fell, 8-5, on No. 1 court to the Wildcats’ No. 30 duo of Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton, while Blosser and Tachibana could not fight their way back from an early deficit and lost, 8-4.
To begin singles play, Northwestern’s No. 76 Belinda Niu recorded a 6-1, 6-0 win against Norton at No. 3, while Stacey Lee outplayed Gridley to give Northwestern its third point with a 6-3, 6-2 score on the No. 6 court. The Wildcats clinched the match on at No. 4 when Rosekrans fell to No. 120 Kate Turvy, 6-3, 6-4. Afterward, Tachibana fell to No. 66 Brittany Wowchuk at No. 2, 6-4, 6-2.
Cao’s No. 1 singles match against No. 52 Maria Mosolova went unfinished due to Northwestern’s clinching the match, despite Cao’s 7-5 first set victory, and her 4-2 lead in the second. Cao lost to Masolova in three sets last May in the opening round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Singles Championship.
“I was really happy with the way I played,” Cao said. “I executed my game plan. It was a very high quality match.”
“Holly was in control, but unfortunately she didn’t get to finish,” Green said.
At No. 5, Blosser’s match went unfinished as well, though she had been poised to even up the set score, holding a 5-4 lead in the second set after dropping the first 7-6 (2).
—Staff writer Eric L. Michel can be reached at emichel@fas.harvard.edu.