NEW HAVEN, Conn.- The Yale women's tennis team dropped a tough matchup against the Harvard Crimson earlier Sunday afternoon.
Yale was able to get things started on the right foot with a win in doubles. After Samantha Martinelli and Elizabeth Zordani took care of their opponents in the No. 1 match by a score of 6-1, Valerie Shklover and Amy Yang fell by an equal 6-1 score. The pressure was on Caroline Amos and Lauren Gillinov, who have emerged as the Bulldogs No. 3 doubles pair in the second half of the season after the team cycled through several different combinations early on; they won by a score of 6-3 to give the Bulldogs the early lead.
The Crimson were overpowering in singles, however, taking all six matches. Yang and Gillinov both lost in straight sets in the No. 2 and 4 matches, respectively. Martinelli showed some fight against junior Erica Oosterhout, ranked No. 114 in the country, losing in two tight sets 6-4, 7-6(3). As did Sunday Swett, who lost by a similar 6-4, 7-6(7) score, with an intense second set tiebreak going to sophomore Natasha Gonzalez. Shklover was actually able to win the first set handily, 6-2, before sophomore Irene Lu went on a run and won in three sets. Zordani lost in three sets as well, falling 10-2 in a third set super tie-break.
The Bulldogs await Princeton and Penn for the final two home matches in their 2017-2018 season.
FULL MATCH RESULTS – Harvard 6, Yale 1
SINGLES
- Oosterhout (H) def. Martinelli (Y) 6-4, 7-6(3)
- Friedel (H) def. Yang (Y) 6-1, 6-2
- Lu (H) def. Shklover (Y) 2-6, 6-1, 6-0
- Ringblom (H) def. Gillinov (Y) 6-0, 6-1
- Milunovich (H) def. Zordani (Y) 6-2, 5-7, 10-2
- Gonzalez (H) def. Swett (Y) 6-4, 7-6(7)
DOUBLES
- Martinelli/Zordani (Y) def. Li/Ringblom (H) 6-1
- Gonzalez/Oosterhout(H) def. Shklover/Yang (Y) 6-1
- Amos/Gillinov (Y) def. Gupta/Jasper (H) 6-3
