Crimson Shows Grit, Honors Seniors in Wins

Rivalry, redemption, revelry—three of the most central and palpable themes in college athletics—were all in play this past weekend for the Harvard men’s tennis team.

Continuing its season-closing seven-match tango in the Ivy League, the Crimson (12-9, 4-2 Ivy) hosted No. 73 Brown (18-9, 4-2 Ivy) at home at the Beren Tennis Center on Friday, then traveled to New Haven on Sunday to battle rival No. 64 Yale (13-8, 3-3 Ivy). Against two familiar, higher-ranked enemies, Harvard secured a pair of morale-boosting 5-2 wins.

The Crimson’s class of 2009 had another task at hand on Friday: defending their turf one last time in the final home game of the season. Notching a win against the Bears on “Senior Day” had symbolic importance—co-captains Chris Clayton and Michael Kalfayan, alongside Sasha Ermakov and Michael Libert, will never again compete on Harvard’s evergreen concrete courts.

HARVARD 5, YALE 2

The Crimson was again a late bloomer yesterday against the Bulldogs. For its ailing hopes of retaining the Ivy League title, however, it was too little, too late; league-leaders Columbia defeated Princeton to secure its second Ancient Eight championship in three years.

“We came out and fought today,” Clayton said. “We thought there was still a chance to get a share of the Ivy Title [if Columbia lost]. But once they won, we still fought hard.”

In the doubles, a lackluster Harvard fell to a bullish Yale. The No. 3 combination of junior Michael Hayes and freshman Alistair Felton recorded the Crimson’s sole victory with an 8-4 win.

After a sluggish start, Harvard responded in the best way possible—winning five of six singles matches.

At No. 1, Clayton clawed back to victory after dropping the first set to the Bulldog’s Jeff Dawson, turning it around in a third set victory (2-6, 6-4, 6-1)—a captain’s display epitomizing the squad’s persistence.

“It looked over in a hurry,” said Harvard Assistant Coach Andy Rueb ’95. “That’s what a senior captain does…once the door opens a crack, he just comes barging through, and that’s what Chris did.”

The Crimson increased its lead through sophomore Alexei Chijoff-Evans, winning 6-2, 6-3 to maintain his undefeated Ivy status at the No. 2 position this season. At the third spot, Ermakov overcame a second-set loss to his Yale opponent to win in three (7-5, 2-6, 7-6), while No. 5 freshman Davis Mangham clinched the match with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 victory.

No. 4 sophomore Aba Omodele-Lucien also recorded a win (6-4, 7-6) as Harvard compensated for its loss of the Ivy League championship by triumphing over its classic rivals.

“The team showed great resilience in singles,” Omodele-Lucien said. “We rebounded really well. Everybody just played their heart out, and we had a good result.”

HARVARD 5, BROWN 2

Shouts of “Tough Break Bruno!” and “C’mon Bruno!” could be heard from Beren Tennis Center on Friday afternoon, as the Crimson faced a boisterous Brown team and its fans.

In a competitive doubles period, Harvard sealed the first point of the contest with wins at No.’s 2 and 3. At No. 3, the partnership of Hayes and Felton secured an 8-4 victory over their Bears counterparts. In a tighter match, the No. 2 tandem of Omodele-Lucien and Ermakov withstood a late surge by Brown’s Chris Lee and Basu Ratnam to clinch the crucial doubles point (9-7).

Down early, the Bears’ response was instantaneous, winning four of six opening sets in the singles matchups.

Despite some uncharacteristic unforced errors in early baseline rallies, No. 1 Clayton defeated Brown’s Jonathan Pearlman in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

At No. 2, the Bears’ Lee, a speedy counterpuncher with deceptive power, took the first set 6-0. However, Chijoff-Evans remained competitive and pulled out a close victory in a dramatic third set tiebreaker (0-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)).

With poor opening sets behind them, No. 5 Omodele-Lucien and No. 6 Felton looked to the skies as they regrouped mentally. Both players fought back after being down by match points simultaneously, winning 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, and 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, respectively.

“It was a rare happening,” Rueb said. “There was a definite energy switch. There’s a lot of synergy that goes on between the courts.”

With Brown’s victory mere points away, the Crimson fought back from the brink to complete a remarkable turnaround.

“I just told myself that you can’t really worry about losing at this stage,” Omodele-Lucien said. “It’s obviously not helping.”

Though Rueb was vocal in his approval of the team’s performance, he insisted that there was no single highlight that could summarize the weekend—only a phrase.

“[It was] a hell of a performance,” Rueb said.