M. Tennis Sails By Cornell, Columbia to Stay Undefeated in Ivy

The Harvard men’s tennis team extended its winning streak to six matches in dominating fashion, as it remained undefeated in Ivy League play by beating Cornell 5-2 and Columbia 6-1.

The No. 41 Crimson (13-8, 3-0 Ivy) took control of yesterday’s match against the Big Red (15-6, 2-2) early with a sweep of the doubles matches to take the first team point.

The junior tandem of co-captain David Lingman and Mark Riddell easily prevailed 8-1 in the No. 2 spot, while junior Chris Chiou and sophomore Jonathan Chu handed their opponents an 8-5 setback in the top spot.

Co-captain Oliver Choo and junior Cliff Nguyen won 8-3 at No. 3. The Harvard pair quickly noticed that opponent Aravinda Neuman’s volley was weak, so they consistently ripped service returns past him while he was at the net and used a variety of shots to force Neuman to attempt volleys.

The Crimson turned the momentum it built in securing the doubles point into three quick singles victories to clinch the overall win. Nguyen earned a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 4, while almost simultaneously Lingman prevailed 6-4, 6-3 at the No.1 position. Chu won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 to give the Crimson the victory.

“The team is playing much better after struggling earlier in the year, and hopefully we can use the energy provided by the fans and the momentum we currently have to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament,” said Lingman, who had quite a vocal audience, including his roommates, father and friends.

Junior George Turner earned the final Harvard point with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 6.

On Saturday against Columbia (8-4, 3-2), the Crimson again swept the doubles point, with close wins in all three matches. Lingman and Riddell won 9-7 at No. 1, Chiou and Chu 8-5 at No. 2 and Choo and Nguyen won 8-6 in the third spot.

Harvard quickly added to its overall lead with singles victories by Riddell (7-5, 6-2 at No. 2) and Chu (6-4, 6-4 at No. 3). Nguyen followed with the clincher, a 6-1, 6-1 trouncing of Rohan Saikia at No. 4.

The attention then shifted to Lingman at No. 1, who was engaged in a three-set thriller. Lingman trailed 2-4 in the deciding set, but stormed back to take a 5-4 lead. After dropping a game, Lingman took the next two to win the match 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 and claim the final Harvard point.

“The team is currently trying to learn as much as they can, because improvement can be a real separator at the NCAA level,” Harvard coach David Fish ’72 said. “These matches were a good test for all of our players.”

The Crimson will be in action next weekend at Princeton on Friday and at Pennsylvania on Saturday.