The Big Green women (8-10, 1-6 Ivy) traveled to Boston to take on the Crimson (13-6, 5-2 Ivy). Harvard took the doubles point and set the tone for the day with wins at No. 1 and No. 2.
"On my court, the two girls cheered a lot for their team and were also very supportive of each other," Sarah Bessen '16 said. "They stayed very focused on winning every point and were positive throughout the match, and that was difficult to compete against."
The women headed into the singles matches needing four points to win, but were stopped on five courts by a deep Harvard team. The Harvard No. 4 and No. 6 have 27 straight wins between them.
The singles play was tight on all courts, but the Big Green was unable to capitalize on opportunities and take sets.
"I went down 5-1 quickly in the first set, but then I started to play with more confidence and extend the rallies," Bessen said. "In the 5-4 game I couldn't capitalize on my chance to level the score and she did a good job of taking the momentum from the end of the first set to the beginning of the second."
Katherine Yau '16 saw her three-match winning streak come to an end. While a victory would have put Yau in a good position to win Ivy League Rookie of the year, she finished the Ivy League season with a strong 4-3 record and a deserving chance at the coaches' award.
"I definitely didn't play as well as I could have on Saturday," Yau said. "My opponent was good, but it was one of those days when I know I could have won had I played to the best of my ability. It's disappointing that I couldn't bring my best game because it would have been really nice to finish the season out with a win."
Playing No. 2, Akiko Okuda '15 earned the Big Green's only point of the day with a three set-win decided by just a few breaks. Okuda dropped the first set 6-4, but persevered and took the next two 6-3, 6-4.
Suzy Tan '16 fell 7-5, 7-5 at No. 5, but had chances to win, including an early 4-1 lead in the second.
"As a team, I think we have an issue with confidence which we've talked about a lot with coach Dallis," Yau said. "With our losing record, it was a little hard to show up to Harvard and play like we were meant to win. It just makes us more determined to approach matches with a stronger mentality next season."
While the women's season ends in a loss and they did not necessarily secure the results they wanted, any close observer of the team would see the promise that the young squad carries heading into the future. All four freshmen contribute critically, occupying roles at No. 1, No. 4, No. 5 singles, and in all three doubles teams.
The women showed incredible resolve when they learned halfway through the Ivy League season that they would be competing without their captain Sarah Leonard '13 at No. 1 or Janet Liu '15 at No. 2, shifting every player two spots up the lineup.
Coach Robert Dallis and the women's tennis team will welcome a strong 2017 class, composed of two five-star recruits and one four-star who moved away from home when she was 10 to compete in the International Tennis Federation and challenger matches, which do not count towards her U.S. Tennis Association ranking.
The Dartmouth men (9-14, 1-6 Ivy) fell at home to Harvard (18-5, 6-1 Ivy) on senior day. Harvard's win secured its title as the lone Ivy League champion of the 2013 season.
The Crimson got off to a dominant start in doubles, stopping the impressive duo of Xander Centenari '13 and Brandon Debot '14 at No. 1 8-4, and winning 8-4 at No. 2 and 8-2 at No. 3.
"We had a lot of energy and a lot of fans cheering us on, but they just played a solid doubles point," Justin Chan '16 said. "They were able to raise their level on the crucial points and close the games better than we were."
Harvard clinched the win with straight set victories in the top three singles matches. The Big Green battled in the bottom three singles.
Debot, who recently won a Truman scholarship, fell in a tight three-set match at No. 4. He won the first set in a tiebreaker, but dropped the second and the third set super-breaker.
Chan had an immediate impact in singles after not playing for the first half of the Ivy League season, but dropped his match 7-5, 7-5. He had chances to win each set with a 5-4 lead in the first and a 5-3 lead in the second.
"I could have won four and three," Chan said. "He was slapping the ball really well and getting everything in. He didn't grind, he just hit winners, so it's not like I gave it away."
Brendan Tannenbaum '16 provided the Big Green with its lone point of the day at No. 6. He took his first set 7-5, and then his opponent retired.
"After Brendan won the first set, they'd already clinched play so they just forfeited that point," Chan said.
Similar to the women, the men suffered disappointing season results, but will prepare for a run at the Ivy League title in 2014. Dovydas Sakinis '16 will play high in the lineup next fall after being ineligible to play this season. Sakinis has a professional ranking, competes in the Davis Cup for Lithuania, and previously reached an ITF world ranking of 73.
Coach Chris Drake and the men also welcome a stellar class of '17s, composed of a five-star, a three-star high school standout and two international players. Diego Pedraza '17, heading to Dartmouth from Colombia, headlines the recruiting class with a career-high ITF ranking of 35. All four recruits are sure to have an immediate positive impact.
