The women's tennis team completed its season on Wednesday with a 4-3 victory against Yale, moving Brown to 11-9 on the season and 2-5 in the Ivy League. The win allowed the Bears to end on a high note, coming on the heels of a turbulent Ivy season and recent losses to Dartmouth on April 22 and Harvard on April 25.
The Bulldogs, now 12-7 overall (3-3 Ivy), jumped out to an early lead, earning the doubles point with wins at all three spots.
Bruno rebounded in the singles play, however, taking the requisite four matches. Amanda Saiontz '07 started things off with a tenacious three-set win, followed by a win by Anita Ivancevic '08 at fourth. Yale fought back with a win at second against Daisy Ames '07 and barely edged out captain Alex Arlak '05 at third singles in a three setter.
Michelle Pautler '07 answered with a win at sixth singles. Ashley Pariser '08 then clinched the match for the Bears in a tough 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-4 win at fifth.
"The match was emotionally tense," said Assistant Coach Cecily Dubusker, "and Ashley was due for a win, so it was nice for her to clinch."
For the team, the Yale match represented the reversal of its trend of playing well but stumbling in close situations. "We had four three-set matches against Princeton that happened not to go in our favor, but we will win those types of matches next year," Ames said.
On Friday, Dartmouth began by securing the doubles point on its home turf with an 8-3 win at first and an 8-4 win at second. Kelley Kirkpatrick '08 and Pariser posted an 8-6 victory at third doubles, but to no avail.
In singles action, Kirkpatrick garnered a point with a 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 win at sixth and Ivancevic grabbed Brown's only other point with her 6-3, 6-4 performance at third. However, the Big Green rolled on to win the match with straight set wins at first, second, fourth and fifth singles.
The weekend did not get better when the Bears returned to Providence to host Harvard on Sunday. Harvard clinched the Ivy League title, capping an undefeated Ivy season with its 6-1 win over the Bears.
The Crimson got off to a dominating start, sweeping the doubles competition to clinch the point. The first-year duo of Kirkpatrick and Pariser put up a valiant effort at third doubles before surrendering in a close 9-7 match.
Harvard cruised to the victory with three straight-set wins. Saiontz fell at the one spot in a swift 6-1, 6-1 match and Ivancevic lost her match 6-3, 6-4 at fourth singles. Junior Elsa O'Riain, who is ranked 70th in the nation, clinched the match with her 6-1, 6-4 win over Ames at second.
Arlak shined in her penultimate performance with the Bears, earning Brown's only point with a 6-4, 6-4 win at third singles.
Although the Bears' season did not go as well as they might have hoped, many players expressed optimism about next season's squad.
"We have had a rough Ivy season in terms of losses," Ivancevic said, "but we have come a long way in terms of team dynamics and this will benefit us in the future."
"The teams that we are playing are all good and we have been doing our best," Ivancevic added, "and even though we may have lost 6-1 or 7-0, we definitely competed well."
Next year the Bears return all players with the exception of Arlak, who leaves the team in capable hands.
"I think ... the sophomores will do their best to lead their younger teammates, and even the freshmen now will make a positive impact on the incoming players," Arlak said.
