WACO, TX – Harvard women’s tennis dropped its first match of the season by falling to No. 10 Texas A&M, 1-6.  The Crimson sit at 1-1 for the year with one match of its Texas road trip remaining.    

How it Happened

The Crimson began the day by falling in the doubles point despite winning at the No. 3 position.  Natalie Block and Sany Gawande picked up its second win in as many matches to improve to 4-0 in 2023-24.  The duo defeated Sydney Fitch and Daria Smetannikov (Texas A&M), 6-3.
 
Harvard then battled it out in singles action with Kate Kim picking up the sole point of the day.  The first-year, who leads the team in singles wins with an overall record of 12-3, registered her second dual match win.  After dropping the first set, Kim fought through the second set to win 7-5 and force the match into tiebreakers.  Ultimately, Kim was able to hold of Jeanette Mireles (Texas A&M) and win 10-8 to take the match. 

Harvard Highlights

• Kate Kim continues to lead the team in singles wins with a record of 12-3.  The Crimson first-year is the only player to have surpassed double-digit singles victories so far this season. 
• Prior to Wednesday match, Natalie Block and Sany Gawande had only teamed up twice in doubles.  In the first two dual matches, the duo has picked up identical 6-3 wins. 
• Meeting for just the third time in history, the all-time series against the Aggies now stands at 1-2 in favor of Texas A&M. 

Results

Harvard – 1, Texas A&M – 6
Doubles

1. Mia Kupres/Mary Stoiana (Texas A&M) def. Stephanie Yakoff/Holly Fischer, 6-2
2. Lucciana Perez/Nicole Khirin (Texas A&M) def. Iveta Daujotaite/Angel You, 6-4
3. Natalie Block/Sany Gawande def. Sydney Fitch/Daria Smetannikov (Texas A&M), 6-3

 
Singles

1. Mary Stoiana (Texas A&M) def. Stephanie Yakoff, 6-0, 6-2
2. Nicole Khirin (Texas A&M) def. No. 103 Holly Fischer, 6-4, 6-4
3. Mia Kupres (Texas A&M) def. Charlotte Owensby, 6-2, 6-2
4. Lucciana Perez (Texas A&M) def. Sany Gawande, 7-6 (5), 6-1
5. Daria Smetannikov (Texas A&M) def. Maxi Duncan, 6-2, 6-4
6. Kate Kim def. Jeanette Mireles (Texas A&M), 3-6, 7-5, 10-8

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

Next Up

Continuing its Texas road trip, the Crimson will take on Rice tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. ET in Houston, TX.