No. 22 Women's Tennis Falls To No. 15 Harvard, 4-3
Feb. 26, 2004
CORAL GABLES, Fla.-The No. 22-ranked women’s tennis team fell 4-3 to No. 15 Harvard in a hard fought battle Thursday afternoon in Cambridge, Mass.
The Hurricanes (4-1) suffered their first loss of the season, while the Crimson improve to 5-4 overall.
Harvard won the doubles point, winning at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Mari Toro (Miami, Fla.) and Audrey Banada (North Miami Beach, Fla.) teamed up to beat Preethi Mukundun and Cindy Chu 8-5 at No. 3 doubles.
Eva Wang gave the Crimson a 2-0 lead with her 6-1, 6-4 win over Toro at No. 2 singles, before Melissa Anderson put Harvard on the verge when she held on for a 6-3, 7-5 win over Sihem Bennacer (Algiers, Algeria) at No. 6 singles.
No. 41 Courtney Bergman then clinched the match for the Crimson with an upset victory over No. 11 Megan Bradley (Columbia, Mo.) in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 1 singles.
Miami came out victorious in the final three matches to provide the final 4-3 margin. Banada topped Mukundun 7-6, 6-3 at No. 5 singles, while Staci Stevens (Hammond, La.) held on for a 7-5, 7-6 (5) over Chu at No. 4 singles. Melissa Applebaum (Coral Gables, Fla.) dropped her first set against Susanna Lingman at No. 3 singles, but rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 1-0 (6) win to close out the match.
The Hurricanes are back in action hosting No. 35 Baylor Sunday at Noon.
No. 15 Harvard 4, No. 22 Miami 3
Doubles
1. Bergman/Lingman (H) def. Applebaum/Bradley (UM), 8-6
2. Wang/Ashley Hyotte (H) def. Bennacer/Robbins (UM), 8-2
3. Banada/Toro (UM) def. Mukundun/Chu (H), 8-5
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. * No. 41 Courtney Bergman (H) def. No. 11 Megan Bradley (UM), 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
2. Eva Wang (H) def. Mari Toro (UM), 6-1, 6-4
3. Melissa Applebaum (UM) def. Susanna Lingman (H), 4-6, 7-6 (7), 1-0 (6)
4. Staci Stevens (UM) def. Cindy Chu (H), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
5. Audrey Banada (UM) def. Preethi Mukundun (H), 7-6, 6-3
6. Melissa Anderson (H) def. Sihem Bennacer (UM), 6-3, 7-5
* Clinched match
Order of finish: 2, 6, 1, 5, 4, 3
