The Brown women’s tennis team lost to Harvard by a score of 4-1 in Cambridge, Mass., on April 10. This was the Bears’ last road match of the season.
The outcome affects both teams’ Ivy League records, with each now holding a conference record of one win and three losses. The result also marks a key point as Brown prepares for its upcoming home matches.
Abigail Lee and Hannah Shen gave Brown an early lead by winning their doubles match against Kate Kim and Claire Shao, but Harvard secured the doubles point after victories at the second and third doubles lines. Broadbent Family Head Coach Lucie Schmidhauser said, “We needed to come out with better energy in doubles at lines two and three. Abbey and Hannah played great doubles at line one, keeping their opponents in the back of the court and then finishing beautifully at net.”
In singles play, Abigail Lee earned Brown’s only point with a straight-set win over Anna-Raphaëlle Serghi. Schmidhauser said, “In singles, Abbey problem-solved really well to get the win at line three. When her A game wasn’t working, she changed her strategy and outcompeted her opponent.” She added praise for Ali Maguy’s performance: “Ali, at line one, was relentless in her consistency and ball quality in the second set.” Schmidhauser also highlighted Lee’s composure under pressure: “Abbey came up huge in critical moments. She elevated her game when it counted the most in the final stages of the match… Abbey was completely fearless in her shot making… closing out the match at 6-5 with a great serve and finishing shot pattern.”
Other singles matches went to Harvard as Claire Shao defeated Hannah Shen; Natalie Block beat Sari Woo; Andra Braicu overcame Chloe Qin; while matches involving Ali Maguy (Brown) versus Kavya Karra (Harvard) and Anne Yang (Brown) versus Kate Kim (Harvard) were unfinished.
Schmidhauser concluded: “Harvard played well today, and we couldn’t match their consistency level. We will reset as we get ready for another match against Dartmouth on Sunday.” The Bears will host #68 Dartmouth on Sunday afternoon for what is expected to be their first outdoor home contest this season.
