The Arizona women’s tennis team saw many promising performances while in Boston for the Harvard Invitational, in which they competed against players from last year’s No. 15 Harvard yesterday, Rice on Saturday and last year’s No. 25 Virginia on Friday to end the fall season.
The team won the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles flights with the duos of No. 29 Danielle Steinberg, a sophomore, and junior Juliette Mavroleon and senior Kasia Jakowlew with freshman Natalia Toporowska. Junior Camelia Todorova won the No. 6 singles flight.
“”This is the best trip they’ve been on since I’ve been here,”” said UA assistant coach Brian Ramirez, who is in his third year of coaching.
The squad’s top doubles team of Steinberg and Mavroleon won consecutive matches.
The duo defeated Virginia’s Kristen McVitty and Jennifer Stevens, 9-7 on Friday, before winning their match on Saturday against Julia Chao and Dominique Karas of Rice, 8-4.
Steinberg, who injured her ankle two weeks ago at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Regional in San Diego, also experienced success in the singles events as she had two straight-set victories against Rice’s Christine Dao 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday and Lindsey Pereira of Virginia on Friday 6-1, 6-1.
“”Danielle played exceptionally well,”” Ramirez said. “”They were very routine matches for her, and they were good players.””
Her doubles partner, Mavroleon, also had success in singles play after coming back from a minor injury she sustained in her first match on Friday, forcing her to retire in the second set against Virginia’s Brintney Larson after winning the first set 7-6.
Still, she fought back on Saturday to beat Tiffany Lee of Rice in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
Ramirez said that though the injury was minor and she probably could have played through the pain, there was “”no point in pressing a bad situation.””
In the No. 2 doubles flight, Jakowlew and Toporowska had mixed results as they beat the duo of Chao and Lee 9-8, but lost in their first match against Larson and Jessica Preeg of Virginia.
In the singles flights, Jakowlew streamed together two consecutive wins by defeating Chao 7-6(1), 6-2 and McVitty, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Toporowska had two rough outings in the singles competition as she lost to Caroline Hammond of Virginia 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 and to Rice’s Rebecca Lin in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
Todorova won the No. 6 singles flight, being the only member of the team to win in the singles event.
Though she lost on Saturday to Karas 7-6, 6-2, she had a promising start on Friday, defeating Preeg 6-4, 6-2.
“”She played probably the best match she’s played that I’ve seen in the last year and a half,”” Ramirez said.
She teamed with sophomore Tina Razloznik for doubles and came out strong on Friday by defeating the Virginia duo of Lara Alexander and Hammond. Their success was short-lived, as they lost on Saturday to Lin and Alana Rodgers of Rice, 8-5.
Razloznik endured straight losses for the weekend, losing to Stevens in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, and to Rodgers, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
“”I think it’s a good place for us to leave off in terms of tournament play for the fall,”” Ramirez said. “”I couldn’t be happier, absolutely, with what I saw this weekend from the girls.””
