The men’s and women’s tennis teams both fell to Ivy foes Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend in blows to each team’s conference record. The Crimson overpowered both teams Saturday. The men fell 4-2, while the women came up short 4-3. Sunday brought two more defeats, with the men and women losing to the Big Green 4-3 and 5-2, respectively.
Women’s tennis
Dayna Lord ’17, Hannah Camhi ’16 and Ammu Mandalap ’16 came out with wins for Bruno (13-9, 2-4 Ivy) in Crimson territory at first, second and fifth spot singles. But Harvard (11-7, 3-3) responded, snagging the doubles point and the three other singles points. Mandalap said the loss was a heartbreaker for the girls, but that it was a big improvement from last year’s 7-0 loss to the Crimson.
“All of us matched up pretty well,” Mandalap said. She dominated at fifth spot singles, pulling away with a 6-2, 6-0 win. Unfortunately for the Bears, Mandalap and doubles partner Ashley Noyes ’16 got edged out in a tiebreaker at third spot doubles. Their 8-7 (4) loss “was the deciding factor for the doubles point,” Mandalap said.
Mandalap and Noyes had a slow start, falling to an early three-game deficit. Mandalap said she believed they never fully recovered from falling behind. Harvard’s pair pulled ahead 7-5, but Brown’s sophomores closed the gap, tying the score 7-7. Despite the Bears’ battling, Harvard hit two good serves to finish off the tiebreaker, Mandalap said.
Though Bruno failed to get the doubles point, the top doubles team of Lord and Camhi, a Herald staff writer, defeated its competition 8-4.
The women face Yale (13-8, 5-1) Saturday for the last match of their season.
Men’s tennis
The men’s loss to Harvard (16-6, 5-1) at home brought their league record to 0-5. Gregory Garcia ’17 and William Spector ’15 scored both points for Brown (10-12, 0-6) at second and third spot singles, respectively. Garcia finished with a 6-3, 6-4 win at two spot singles. He said he was matched up against a player with good groundstrokes, but he added that he was “returning the ball well.”
Though Garcia had success at singles, he suffered a tight loss, 8-6, at first spot doubles with partner Daniel Hirschberg ’15. Garcia said Harvard was hitting some big serves, but that the “match could have gone either way.”
Harvard snatched the lone doubles point, but Jacob Laser ’15 and Justin To ’15 fought for Brown at two spot doubles, winning 8-5. Garcia said Laser’s play brought the team a boost of energy. Laser “really put the team on his back,” Garcia said.
Despite Laser’s efforts, the team “could have had more energy,” Garcia said. Bruno could not turn things around for Sunday’s match — Dartmouth slipped away with a 4-3 win. The Big Green (17-5, 4-1) swept doubles, getting all three wins for the doubles point. Brandon Burke ’14, Hirschberg and Lucas Da Silveira ’16 all stepped up in singles, grabbing three points for Brown. Burke pulled away with a tight 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 win, while Hirschberg dominated in two sets. Da Silveira went into three sets — eventually winning 6-0, 2-6, 6-4. Despite the final outcome, the match was full of tight games.
The men have their last match of the season Saturday against Yale (12-9, 1-5).
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