After defeating both Army and the University of Montreal the previous weekend, the Boston University women’s tennis team suffered its first loss of the season in its first road match, falling 7-0 to No. 18 Harvard University on Saturday.
“We competed the best we could out there,” said BU coach Lesley Sheehan. “They were stronger than we were on Saturday.”
The Crimson, led by the nationally sixth-ranked combo of Elsa O’Riain and Melissa Anderson, swept all three doubles matches, winning, 8-3, 8-1 and 8-2. The team defeated sophomore Gina Sabatino and senior captain Monica Shepherd. Despite the loss, Sheehan was impressed by how her top doubles team played.
“The match with Sabatino and Shepherd was neck-and-neck the whole way,” Sheehan said. “It was a real good match. O’Riain and Anderson broke it away in the end.”
In other doubles action, Harvard’s Eva Wang and Stephanie Schnitter defeated BU’s freshman tandem of Danielle Abraham and Cori Lefkowith by an 8-1 score. In the final match, Harvard’s Laura Peterzan and Preethi Mukandan defeated BU’s final duo of junior Erin Katims and freshman Yana Sadovskaya, 8-2.
The Crimson continued their winning ways in singles competition, as they swept all six singles matches. Harvard’s Wang defeated reigning America East Rookie of the Year Sabatino, 6-1, 6-1.
The Terriers had their best chance for a victory in the second singles match, but Katims lost to O’Riain by a close score of 6-3, 6-4. Sheehan felt that the junior from Boca Raton, Fla. played extremely well.
“Erin played great tennis out there,” Sheehan said. “She had a good chance to take a game or two.”
Sheehan notes that there is a marked difference in both girls’ playing style. Harvard’s O’Riain is tall and doesn’t move around as well as Katims.
“Erin did a fantastic job of moving O’Riain around,” Sheehan said. “O’Riain is not very fast because she’s big and tall. She’s a power player. Erin played very aggressive and looked really good out there.
The next three singles slots for BU were filled by freshmen. Harvard’s Laura Peterzan defeated Sadovskaya, 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 3 slot. Beier Ko of the Crimson nearly swept Abraham, 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 4 slot. Lefkowith gave a big effort in the second set, but lost to Harvard’s Anderson, 6-1, 6-4 at the fifth slot.
In the final match, Shepherd lost to Harvard’s Schnitter, 6-1, 6-1.
Despite the sweep, Sheehan is optimistic about the team’s effort.
“We played against the 18th-ranked team out of maybe 350 Division I programs, so we’re talking maybe one of the 20 best teams in the country,” Sheehan said. “Harvard is a very solid and very deep team. We played them tough.”
When facing a team with as much acclaim as Harvard, preparation against the opposition can be a problem. Sheehan feels that this problem had something to do with Saturday’s result.
“One challenge you have when facing a ranked team is how you prepare,” Sheehan said. “It is difficult to prepare for a team with that much talent who you do not face on a regular basis.”
Winner of 12 straight America East Championships, Sheehan is not at all worried about her team in the long run.
“I’m not worried about the rest of the season,” Sheehan said. “We have a very deep team in the America East. We will be seeded No. 1 in the conference tournament.”
After seven consecutive NCAA appearances, Sheehan’s confidence is understandable.
Next weekend, BU returns home to play the University of New Hampshire and Columbia University. As far as the Terriers’ chances go, Sheehan’s spirits remain lifted.
“We face UNH and Columbia this weekend, and we usually play well against both teams,” Sheehan said. “I am very confident about our chances this weekend.”