HARVARD 5, PENN 4
With the recent 5-4 upset of the Tigers fresh under its belt, Penn was gunning for another underdog victory at the Ringe Courts this past Saturday.
The Quakers fell short of that goal, but the match was the closest yet of the season for the Crimson.
“It was a great match to start the second half of our season,” Kingshott said. “[Penn is] really competitive, and we knew it would be a challenge.”
And live up to the challenge, the Quakers did.
“Penn played very, very well,” Mashruwala said. “Penn was motivated, and everyone [on the Harvard squad] knew they needed to step up.”
With the match hanging in the balance right through to the final matchup, each court saw close competition.
Gemmell, at No. 1, dropped sophomore No. 15 Nabilla Ariffin in four frames, 11-5, 10-12, 11-4, 11-5. It marked the first regular season match of Gemmell’s career that wasn’t won in straight sets.
Yet, with the win, Gemmell maintained her undefeated record.
Also maintaining spotless records were Cortes, Mumanachit, and Guruge, although Guruge lost the following day. Cortes and Mumanachit won in three sets, and Guruge pushed through a grueling five frames for her victory.
But despite these victories, Mashruwala, Tiong, Kingshott, and Williams all fell short in their matches, and the score was knotted at four apiece.
It was Zindman, fighting her toughest match yet, who clinched the win. She downed No. 80 rookie Hyland Murphy in five, 14-12, 8-11, 13-15, 11-6, 11-3.
“This was her first big match after being injured for so long,” Kingshott explained. “That was the crucial match and crucial win for us…She showed incredible tenacity. We were all so excited and inspired to see her play well.”
Ultimately, then, the Crimson narrowly pulled away with a win.
“Penn came out fighting,” Kingshott said. “But we dealt with the pressure really well. Penn is a formidable opponent and we had to respect them, but at the same time we had to have confidence in our own skill. We did a good job dominating play and making our marks.”
—Staff writer Molly E. Kelly can be reached at mkelly@college.harvard.edu.