Crimson Splits Time in Virginia

It’s not every weekend that the Crimson men’s tennis team enjoys consecutive games on the road against “the Tribe” and “the Monarchs.”

While such monikers together provoke colorful comparisons, No. 63 Harvard (6-4) offered its own contrast by recording a win and a loss versus No. 49 William & Mary (12-9) and Old Dominion (15-9), respectively.

With only one point the difference in the two keenly-contested fixtures, it was a contrast not quite as vivid as tribalism and royalty.

“We were outclassed in the doubles, which we thought we might be, and we fought incredibly hard in the singles,” head coach Dave Fish ’72 said. “I thought it was a great weekend of tennis.”

In the absence of sophomore Alexei Chijoff-Evans due to illness and senior Sasha Ermakov due to injury, the Crimson rose to the challenge in a difficult weekend. In a greatly-changed singles and doubles lineup, freshman Alistair Felton competed at No. 2, while co-captain Michael Kalfayan returned to the lineup for the first time since February.

“I think we went out there like tigers,” said co-captain Chris Clayton, who is currently No. 65 in the nation. “You roll with [the changes]—you never know what the season’s going to give you, and we’ve been handling it well.”

HARVARD 4, WILLIAM & MARY 3

Looking to rebound from Saturday’s loss against Old Dominion, Sunday’s ranked opponent William & Mary was hardly Harvard’s ideal proposition; such concerns intensified upon the Crimson dropping the doubles point to the Tribe. However, Harvard silenced all doubt with a resounding singles performance, recording four straight wins to seal the game.

“The level of play was up a level higher...it was quite a remarkable win today,” Fish said.

In the doubles, William & Mary claimed an early advantage over the Crimson. At No. 1, Felton and junior Michael Hayes lost 8-4 to the Tribe’s Keziel Juneau and Sebastian Vidal, with No. 3 co-captain combination Kalfayan/Clayton beaten by the same score. Harvard secured a lone win, courtesy of the No. 2 duo of sophomore Aba Omodele-Lucien and freshman Davis Mangham; the pairing won 8-5 over counterparts Ilha Orre and Varun Pandit.

With everything to play for in the singles, the Crimson rallied to swing the pendulum back in its favor. At No. 4, Mangham secured the equalizer with a 6-3, 6-1 win, while No. 1 Clayton defeated Juneau (6-3, 6-4) to help Harvard take the lead.

“We weren’t fazed at all by the conditions,” Clayton said. “Whether it was losing the doubles point or being beaten in three straight sets in singles, at this point we are growing into a much tougher and competitive team than we’ve been this year.”

With the Tribe’s advantage overturned, No. 2 Felton beat Marwan Ramadan (6-4, 7-5) for Kalfayan to clinch the decisive fourth point at No. 6 with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Pandit—the Crimson co-captain’s second singles win of the weekend.

“Considering that Mike went down [with the team], had to turn in his thesis next Thursday, [and] literally studied non-stop, he played beautifully,” Fish said.

OLD DOMINION 4, HARVARD 3

In Saturday’s fixture, Crimson hopes of a comeback following its loss of the doubles point rested on the shoulders of Alistair Felton—competing at No. 2 for the second time in his collegiate career, having battled back from a bagel in the first set.

The score poised at 3-3, the freshman’s third-set tie-breaker against No. 106 in the nation Tobias Fanselow would decide the outcome.

Unfortunately for Harvard, Felton succumbed 7-6(5), recording a 6-0, 2-6, 7-6(5) loss overall.

“[Felton] was only one shot away from being up a break in the third,” Fish said. “He had the guy on the ropes, didn’t quite get it, [but] still came up with some big shots...he handled [playing at No. 2] beautifully.”

The Crimson began by surrendering the doubles point to the Monarchs. No. 3 pairing Omodele-Lucien/Mangham recorded Harvard’s solitary win, defeating the Monarch’s Yakov Diskin and Alex Funkhouser (8-1).

However, in a stirring response in the singles, the Crimson dominated further down the courts to set up Felton’s grandstand finish. At No. 5, Omodele-Lucien won in straight sets (6-2, 6-4), while No. 4 Mangham overturned a first-set loss to record a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Diskin. Finally, No. 6 Kalfayan marked his return to the singles lineup in victorious fashion, winning 3-6, 6-3, (10-7).

“Our guys just never stopped competing—it was a very, very close match, a tremendous fight,” Fish said. “I thought we came incredibly close to pulling off an upset without a full group. It just showed how strong the guys down the lineup are, and how much they’ve improved.”

—Staff writer Allen J. Padua can be reached at ajpadua@fas.harvard.edu.