NEW YORK - The Columbia women's tennis team dropped a tough match to No. 52Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. Friday, in a match that was closer than the 7-0 score indicated. With the loss, the Lions stand at 9-9 overall, 0-2 in the Ivy League.

Columbia was able to take one win the doubles, and nearly took a second, but Harvard triumphed in two spots to earn the point. At No. 1 doubles, first-years Nicole Bartnik and Katarina Kovacevic fought hard, but lost 8-5, while Natasha Makarova and Carling Donovan fell in the No. 2 spot, 8-4. Columbia's win came in the No. 3 spot, where first-year Chelsea Davis and sophomore Eliza Matache teamed up for the first time this year, taking an 8-7 (4) win.

Though the Lions lost all six singles matches, two of them went to third sets, indicating a hard fought match. Bartnik won the first set at No. 1, before dropping the second and barely falling in a super tiebreaker, 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-6. And Matache rallied back after a first set loss, hanging tough with Harvard's Alex Lehman before dropping the third, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Both Makarova and Davis's first sets also went to 7-6 in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots respectively, but in both cases, the Harvard opponent managed to take the second set, 6-2, and seal the win.

Up next for the Lions is Ivy foe Dartmouth, in Hanover N.H., Saturday, April 3 at 12 p.m.

Harvard 7, Columbia 0

Doubles
1. H. Cao/S. Rosekrans (Harvard) def. N. Bartnik/K. Kovacevic (Columbia), 8-5
2. H. Tachibana/K. Norton (Harvard) def. N. Makarova/C. Donovan (Columbia), 8-4
3. C. Davis/E. Matache (Columbia) def. C. Davis/S. Gridley (Harvard), 8-7 (4)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1. #56 Holly Cao (Harvard) def. #112 Nicole Bartnik (Columbia) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 10-6
2. #121 Hideko Tachibana (Harvard) def. Natasha Makarova (Columbia) 7-6 (3), 6-2
3. Kristin Norton (Harvard) def. Chelsea Davis (Columbia) 7-6(4), 6-2
4. Samantha Rosekrans (Harvard) def. Katarina Kovacevic (Columbia) 6-3, 6-1
5. Alex Lehman (Harvard) def. Eliza Matache (Columbia) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
6. Samantha Gridley (Harvard) def Diana Shapoval (Columbia) 6-3, 6-3