Men’s tennis prepares for upcoming ECACs with strong showing at UVA Invitational

In what was largely a tune-up for the upcoming ECAC Championships, the Harvard men’s tennis team posted some impressive results at the fourth annual UVA Invitational in Charlottesville, VA.

Sophomore Ashwin Kumar and freshman Sasha Ermakov won the Flight A doubles as the No. 4 seed, and junior Scott Denenberg took advantage of a first-round bye to make a run all the way to the semifinals of the Flight B singles draw.

Many of the players, however, retired late in the tournament to save their strength and energy for the ECAC Championships that begin Friday.

“A lot of guys pulled out because, with the ECACs coming up, we want to save our bodies,” captain Brandon Chiu said. “This was more like a practice tournament for us.”

Chiu and freshman Chris Clayton made it as far as the semifinals in the Flight B doubles before pulling out, and both Clayton and Kumar had made it to the semifinals in the A2 singles backdraw.

“Chris Clayton has really started picking up his level of play,” Chiu said. “We have a lot of freshmen, but I think we’re pretty well prepared for the ECACs.”

—KARAN LODHA