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Harvard women’s tennis made a strong statement on its home courts this past weekend at the Ivy League Qualifier Tournament. Captain Charlotte Owensby made a powerful run to the singles final and secured the doubles championship with freshman Claire Shao. With this championship victory, Owensby and Shao qualified for the ITA Conference Masters Tournament in San Diego, where they will compete for a bid to the NCAA tournament.
Strong Singles Starts
From the beginning of the tournament, the Crimson made its presence known. Each of the four singles players – Owensby, Shao, junior Kavya Karra, and freshman Polina Krumkachev – advanced through the first round of 32 players.
Shao advanced after Princeton’s Maren Urata retired, but her tournament ultimately concluded in the Round of 16 with a 6-2, 6-0 defeat at the hands of top-seeded Malak El Allami of Columbia. Krumkachev fought hard in a tight first match, outlasting Dartmouth’s Valentina Cruz-Bonilla, 5–7, 6–3, 11–9, before ultimately losing to Princeton’s Madeleine Jessup, 6-1, 6-2.
Fourth-seeded Karra started with a strong 6–3, 6–1 win over Anna Maria Fedotova from Princeton. In her following match, she forced Brown’s Ali Maguy into a tight deciding tiebreak before falling 6–1, 4–6, 9–11, in a tough loss that showed her resilience.
Owensby’s Singles Run
Owensby, seeded sixth entering the tournament, was the Crimson’s star from beginning to end. She rolled through the early rounds of competition, beating Brown’s Hannah Shen 6–1, 6–0 and Princeton’s Pearlie Zhang 6–2, 6–1 before holding off Dartmouth’s Lauren Han in the quarterfinal round 7–6 (7–4), 6–4.
Arguably the match of the weekend was her semifinal performance: a 6–2, 6–4 win over Columbia’s No. 1 seed El Allami to send her into the championship round. Owensby’s run ended one step short of the title, falling to Yale’s Shla Aggarwal, the No. 2 seed, in the final – but not before cementing herself as one of the Ivy’s most in-form players heading into the spring season.
Doubles Success
Harvard’s teams in doubles were just as dangerous. Owensby and Shao were the No. 3 seed, and juniors Kavya Karra and Stephanie Yakoff were the No. 2 seed. Both pairs breezed through the early rounds.
Owensby and Shao beat Penn's Lara Stojanovski and Elizabeth Tkachenko 8–3 to start the tournament. In the quarterfinals, they beat Brown’s Ali Maguy and Anne Moody, 8–3. On the other side of the draw, Karra and Yakoff beat Cornell's Emma Baker and Dylan Gelber, 8–1, and Columbia's Emily Baek and Michelle Li, 8–4, to get to the semifinals. The duo of juniors lost to Penn's Esha Velaga and Jo-Leen Saw, 3–6, 4–6, which ended their run.
The same Penn pair faced Owensby and Shao in the final, but not before the Harvard pair pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. In the semifinals, the underdogs beat Columbia's top-seeded team of El Allami and Sophia Wang, 7–6 (7–4), 3–6, 10–5.
In the championship, the Harvard duo faced Velaga and Saw, who had just beaten their teammates. However, they pulled through under pressure once again. The Crimson made it through a close tiebreak in the first set, 7–6 (9–7), but ultimately was able to pull away and win the Ivy League Qualifier doubles title, 6–2.
Looking Ahead
This championship ended a solid breakout weekend for both players. Owensby entered the weekend as one of Harvard's most consistent players, but this tournament showed how versatile she could be with her success in singles and doubles. Shao similarly made a strong statement in her collegiate debut season, indicating she will be a player to watch in seasons to come.
With the win, both Owensby and Shao will advance to the ITA Conference Masters Tournament in San Diego, where they will compete against the best from around the country for a bid to the NCAA tournament.
Additionally, with her previous performance at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) New England Regionals tournament, Stephanie Yakoff has already advanced to the NCAA individual championships.
Beyond these players’ achievements, the depth of the Crimson was truly shown at this tournament. Every singles player at the tournament recorded at least one win, and both of the doubles teams reached the semifinals or better. Harvard walked away from the Ivy League Qualifier with hardware and confidence – knowing it can beat some of the best in the league and hold its own on any stage.
The Crimson is set to compete at the Harvard Fall Invitational on their home courts from Oct. 31st to Nov. 2nd before competing at the ITA Conference Masters the following weekend, Nov. 6th to 9th.
