CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Following a loss by the slimmest of margins on Saturday, the University of Pennsylvania women's tennis team responded by taking down the top team in the Ivy League on Sunday, defeating No. 49 Harvard on the road 4-3 to end the season. Penn finishes the year with an 11-9 overall record and a 4-3 mark in the Ancient Eight, finishing right behind a group of three first-place teams. This year marked the first since 2008 that the Quakers reached double-digit wins in three consecutive seasons.
Similar to Saturday's match at Dartmouth, the Red and Blue were unable to steal the early momentum, as Harvard grabbed wins on courts one and three to take the 1-0 lead.
Ria Vaidya and
Ashley Zhu teamed up for the first time this year on court two, soaring to a dominating 6-0 victory for Penn's first win, but the Crimson would prevail 6-3 on the remaining two courts to grab the advantage.
Knowing they needed four wins in singles for the match, the Quakers got to work, matching the energy of the Senior Day crowd in Cambridge while staying composed in their own right.
Lina Qostal scored the first points of the afternoon for the Red and Blue, rebounding from an early three-game deficit in the first set on court four to win 7-5 before coasting to a 6-1 win in set two to take the match. Just minutes after,
Marta Kowalska clinched a 6-3, 6-3 win on court six, as the sophomore ends her season with 14-3 record in spring matches and 5-2 mark in Ivy League play to lead the team. The win gave Penn its first lead of the day at 2-1.
Harvard would then even things up with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court two, as June Lee took down Vaidya to make the overall match 2-2. Freshman
Ashley Zhu came up big on court three with a 10-8 tiebreak win in the first set, after being down 5-0, before cruising to a 6-2 second-set win to clinch the third point of the day for the Quakers.
All eyes turned to courts one and five as
Kana Daniel and
Sarah Dreyfuss were the remaining competitors for Penn. Daniel was victorious in her first set against Erica Oosterhout 7-5, but gave up a 4-1 lead in the second set, ultimately losing 7-5. The third set featured many swings of momentum and breaks of serve, but Harvard's Oosterhout triumphed 6-4 to even things up yet again at 1-1.
After dropping the first set 6-3, Dreyfuss battled back against Annika Ringblom to force a second-set tiebreak, prevailing by a score of 9-7. With the match on the line, the rookie earned the early break of serve in the deciding frame before winning 6-3 for Penn's fourth and final point of the day. The victory knocks Harvard off the top-line of the Ivy League, forcing a tie for first between the Crimson, Cornell and Dartmouth, all with records of 5-2.
The win marks the third-straight against Harvard, only the second-time in school history the Quakers have rattled off three in a row against the Crimson and the first time since 1978-1980. The win also gives Penn a winning record in the Ivy League for two-straight seasons for the first time since 2007-08.
Daniel finished her career for the Red and Blue with 67 wins in singles and 65 in doubles over four seasons, while fellow senior
Luba Vazhenina led the squad with 16 wins in doubles during the spring this season.
Penn 4, #49 Harvard 3
Doubles
Singles
1. Erica Oosterhout (Harvard) def.
#105 Kana Daniel (Penn), 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
2. June Lee (Harvard) def.
Ria Vaidya (Penn), 6-3, 6-2
3.
Ashley Zhu (Penn) def. Lexi Milunovich (Harvard), 7-6(8), 6-2
4.
Lina Qostal (Penn) def. Jenna Friedel (Harvard), 7-5, 6-1
5.
Sarah Dreyfuss (Penn) def. Annika Ringblom (Harvard), 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3*), Singles (4,6,2,3,1,5*)
Records: Penn (11-9, 4-3 Ivy), No. 49 Harvard (17-8, 5-2 Ivy)