“We were all feeling the pressure,” Liang said. “I of course felt pressure in my match because if one of us didn’t perform and just embrace the pressure, then we would have lost the match. But we all handled it really well, and I think that coming back just shows a lot about all of our characters.”

Monica Lin kept the Crimson’s comeback attempt going, earning her own 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 win in the second spot to even the match up at 3-all with just one match still in progress. All eyes then turned to court four, as He and Clemson sophomore Yuilynn Miao fought to earn the deciding point. He rose to the challenge, taking the second and third sets easily to give Harvard the final tally.

“Amy did so great,” Liang said. “Even though she also didn’t come out playing as well as she’d like, she stepped up her game and let loose. [Miao] was tough, she was very consistent, she was hitting balls all over the court, but Amy just stayed patient and she kept playing her game….She stepped in and kept being aggressive.”

The Crimson gave Clemson a run for their money early in the doubles matches but was unable to come away with the point. Harvard’s No. 2 team of Lee and junior Sylvia Li dropped a quick match in an 8-1 decision, but He and sophomore Amanda Lin came out on top of a back-and-forth contest at third doubles to knot the score up at 1-1. At first doubles, Liang and Monica Lin dropped an 8-5 match to give Clemson the doubles point.

—Staff writer Glynis K. Healey can be reached at ghealey@college.harvard.edu.