Harvard Starts Regular Season with Weekend Split

The No. 47 Harvard men’s tennis team opened its regular season with a mixed performance this weekend, losing, 7-0, to No. 8 Tennessee on Saturday but bouncing back to beat No. 52 Drake, 4-3, yesterday at the ITA Regional Team Tournament in Knoxville, TN.

Given that the Crimson was slowed by injuries at the top of its lineup, with No. 53 co-captain Chris Clayton—who typically plays at No. 1—and sophomore Aba Omodele-Lucien out because of injuries, the weekend’s mixed result is one the team can be proud of.

“We held our own with a depleted lineup,” sophomore Alexei Chijoff-Evans said. “That’s a great testament to the depth of our lineup.”

HARVARD 4, DRAKE 3

Just a day after being shut out by a top-ten team, the Harvard’s hope to redeem its first weekend of play rested on the back of its least experienced player, freshman Alistair Felton.

Up 3-2 overall in the match, Felton and co-captain Mike Kalfayan were the last two Crimson singles players on the court. Playing at No. 5, Felton capitalized on his opportunity to bring home the victory and clinch Harvard’s first dual match win, breaking his opponent at 2-2 in the first set and never looking back.

“I had to keep being aggressive without giving him cheap points,” Felton said of his eventual 6-2, 6-3 win. “I was trying to attack his backhand—which was his weakest shot—and use that to open up the court.”

Kalfayan could not pull through a victory in his match, losing 6-1, 6-4 after the overall match had been clinched.

Harvard brought the match score to 3-2 on the strength of singles wins from No. 2 Chijoff-Evans (7-6(5), 6-2) and No. 3 junior Michael Hayes (6-2, 7-6(5)). Hayes and Chijoff-Evans’ 8-5 win in doubles also helped the Crimson seal the singles point.

“[Hayes] has really raised his game to another level,” assistant coach Andy Rueb ’95 said.

If Felton clinched the match and Chijoff-Evans and Hayes kept the ball rolling forward for the Crimson, then the No. 1 doubles duo of senior Sasha Ermakov and freshman Davis Mangham put Harvard back on the right course after Saturday’s loss to Tennessee with an easy 8-4 victory.

“Sasha has played at the top level,” Rueb said. “He did a great job taking control, helping Davis make the right moves at the right time.”

NO. 8 TENNESSEE 7, HARVARD 0

A top-ten team proved too much for Harvard to handle in its first dual match since the NCAA’s in May. Better conditioned and better accustomed to playing, the Volunteers (3-0) systematically dismantled the Crimson.

“They were just a little more polished than we were,” Rueb said. “They were a little sharper. ”

Except for Chijoff-Evans’ three-setter (4-6, 6-3, 6-0), all of Harvard’s losses came in straight sets.

“With the way he played against Tennessee, Alexei proved he can play with anyone in the country,” Rueb said. “If he gets his conditioning a little bit better, he’ll be a national force this spring.”

Indeed, conditioning—rather than raw skill—proved the determining factor in Harvard’s loss.

“Against Tennessee, we proved that we have the shot making abilities,” Chijoff-Evans said. “It’s just a matter about being able to physically sustain that type of play for hours.”

—Staff writer Jonathan B. Steinman can be reached at steinman@fas.harvard.edu.