PRINCETON, N.J. – Harvard women's tennis (3-3) fell to Brown in heartbreaking fashion, 4-3, in the opening round of the ECAC Championships this morning in New Jersey. 

The Crimson opened the contest with early momentum as it won the doubles point with wins on court one and three.  The recently ranked duo of Stephanie Yakoff and Kavya Karra struck first with a 6-3 victory on the top court.  The Bears responded with their own 6-3 win at the No. 2 spot, but Harvard pulled out the point as Natalie Block and Natasha Rajaram won 6-4 on court three. 

The Bears quickly got on the board, however, with a win at the No. 4 spot.  Yakoff provided the response for the Crimson as she defeated Ali Maguy (Brown) in straight sets (6-1, 6-2) to put Harvard back in front. 

With her first win of the dual-match season, Claire Shao had Harvard in front 3-2.  The first-year defeated Abigail Lee, 6-4, 7-5, on court three to put Harvard within a point of clinching with two matches outstanding.

Brown controlled the rest of the match, however, stealing wins on court five and two to upset Harvard.

Results

Harvard – 3, Brown – 4
Doubles

1. No. 42 Kavya Karra/Stephanie Yakoff (Harvard) def. Dani Ben-Abraham/Hannah Shen (Brown), 6-3
2. Abigail Lee/Chloe Qin (Brown) def. Kate Kim/Claire Shao (Harvard), 6-3
3. Natalie Block/Natasha Rajaram (Harvard) def. Ali Maguy/Anne Moody (Brown), 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles

1. Stephanie Yakoff (Harvard) def. Ali Maguy (Brown), 6-1, 6-2
2. Hannah Shen (Brown) def. Kavya Karra (Harvard), 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3
3. Claire Shao (Harvard) def. Abigail Lee (Brown), 6-4, 7-5
4. Dani Ben-Abraham (Brown) def. Anna-Raphaëlle Serghi (Harvard), 6-0, 6-2
5. Sari Woo (Brown) def. Kate Kim (Harvard), 6-4, 7-5
6. Anne Yang (Brown) def. Andra Braicu (Harvard), 6-2, 3-2 ret.

Order of finish: 4, 1, 6, 3, 5, 2

Next Up

Harvard will take on Princeton at 8:00 a.m. ET tomorrow in New Jersey.