Women’s Tennis Upsets No. 1 Harvard, Heads to ECAC Semis

PRINCETON, N.J. – The Brown women's tennis team (5-0) defeated No. 1 Harvard (3-3) on in a stunning 4-3 win on the first day of the ECAC Championship.

"Despite coming into the tournament as the No. 8 seed, our players believed they could compete with the defending Ivy League Champion Harvard in today's match." Broadbent Family Head Coach Lucie Schmidhauser said.

Opening with doubles, Dani Ben-Abraham and Hannah Shen lost their first match of the spring season to Stephanie Yakoff and Kavya Karra at the first line, 6-3. At the second line, Abigail Lee and Chloe Qin extended their win streak to four by defeating Claire Shao and Kate Kim, 6-3. Harvard ultimately won the doubles point with a 6-4 win by Natalie Block and Natasha Rajaram to defeat Anne Moody and Ali Maguy at the third line.

"After losing a closely contested doubles point, Dani gave our team momentum in her crushing singles victory, tying the score at 1-1 with flawless execution and aggressive play. Sari competed extremely hard, beating a high level opponent in two close sets. Sari fought hard for every point, took the ball early to keep her opponent on the run and evened the score at 3-3." Schmidhauser said.

The Bears bounced back in the singles, winning four out of the six matches. Dani Ben-Abraham went up first at the fourth line, defeating Anna-Raphaëlle Serghi, 6-0 and 6-2. At the first line, Ali Maguy lost to Stephanie Yakoff, 6-1 and 6-2. Anne Yang secured the Bears' second singles point at the sixth line, 6-2 and 3-2, after Andra Braicu retired during the match. The Crimson tied the match when Claire Shao snapped Abigail Lee's winning record, 6-4 and 7-5, at the third line. At the fifth line, Sari Woo extended her win streak to four after beating Kate Kim in a hard-fought match, 6-4 and 7-5. Hannah Shen sealed the win for Brown in an intense three sets against Kavya Karra at the second line, 6-4, 6-7(4), and 6-3.

"With the match on the line and tied at 3-3, Hannah stayed poised despite having opportunities to win the match in the second set. In the deciding third set, Hannah stayed calm and collected in a pressure filled situation and closed out the match with ice in her veins through some incredible ball-striking. Hannah is a hard worker, so it is gratifying to see her commitment to excellence pay off when it mattered the most today." Schmidhauser said.

"We look forward to playing Yale in the semifinals tomorrow at 2p.m."

UP NEXT
The Bears continue ECAC Championship play on Saturday, against No. 5 Yale at 2 p.m.

DOUBLES RESULTS
Stephanie Yakoff / Kavya Karra (Harvard) def. Dani Ben-Abraham / Hannah Shen (Brown) 6-3
Abigail Lee / Chloe Qin (Brown) def. Claire Shao / Kate Kim (Harvard) 6-3
Natalie Block / Natasha Rajaram (Harvard) def. Anne Moody / Ali Maguy (Brown) 6-4

SINGLES RESULTS
Stephanie Yakoff (Harvard) def. Ali Maguy (Brown) 6-1,6-2
Hannah Shen (Brown) def. Kavya Karra (Harvard) 6-4,6-7(4),6-3
Claire Shao (Harvard) def. Abigail Lee (Brown) 6-4,7-5
Dani Ben-Abraham (Brown) def. Anna-Raphaëlle Serghi (Harvard) 6-0,6-2
Sari Woo (Brown) def. Kate Kim (Harvard) 6-4,7-5
Anne Yang (Brown) def. Andra Braicu (Harvard) 6-2,3-2 ret.

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