Harvard Splits Weekend in Closely Contested Battles

For seniors returning from spring break, the time to start reflecting and winding down their college careers is nigh.

For the Harvard men’s tennis team, it is time to regroup, rebound, and retain its coveted Ancient Eight crown.

Mixed performances and closely-fought encounters were the order of the weekend, as the Crimson (9-8, 1-1 Ivy) began its Ivy League defense by suffering a narrow defeat against Columbia (13-4, 3-0 Ivy) and responding with a close win against Cornell (10-5, 1-2 Ivy)—a single point making the difference in each of the respective fixtures.

“Playing two of the top teams this weekend is just like putting all your poker chips on red at a roulette reel,” Harvard coach David Fish ’72 said. “And if it comes up black, you’re fighting uphill after that.”

Against Ivy League pacesetters Columbia, Harvard failed to capitalize on its opportunities and fell to a 4-3 loss—its first home defeat since the Crimson was beat by then-No.8 Michigan in March of 2008, and first at home in the Ancient Eight since a loss to Brown in April of 2005.

“If Columbia stumbles, then that’s their business,” said Fish. “Our business it just to grab every other [Ivy League] match.”




HARVARD 4, CORNELL 3

Its home winning streak snapped unceremoniously the previous day, the Crimson started Saturday’s match against the Big Red with the worst possible reaction—a lackluster display and the surrendering of the doubles point.

“The guys were really deflated from yesterday, it took a lot out of them, and we were all pained from losing something that was that close,” said Fish. “We came out at the doubles flat [and] we deserved to get beaten.”

Looking for only its second win over Harvard in 50 meetings, the Big Red gained a big boost through wins at the top two doubles. The Crimson’s No. 2 senior-sophomore combination of Sasha Ermakov and Aba Omodele-Lucien slumped to an 8-2 defeat against Cornell’s No. 2 tandem of Jeremy Feldman and Andy Gauthier, while the No. 1 duo of senior co-captain Chris Clayton and sophomore Alexei Chijoff-Evans lost to Kyle Doppelt and Joshua Goldstein (8-6).

Into the singles, the Crimson knew it had to win four points to overturn the deficit and return to winning ways. It got off to the perfect start with an equalizing win at No. 5—freshman Davis Manghan, replacing the injured Ermakov, won 6-2, 6-2 against Gauthier in his Ivy League debut. A pair of gritty victories further increased the Crimson momentum; No. 3 Felton fought back to defeat Jonathan Fife (4-6, 6-1, 6-4), while the in-form No. 2 Chijoff-Evans overcame Goldstein in a 6-4, 6-4 win.

No. 6 Omodele-Lucien dropped to a (2-6, 6-3, 3-6) loss, leaving two singles points remaining, the score poised at 3-2. Fortunately for Harvard, it could count on its co-captain and No. 77 in the nation to seal the win at the No. 1 position; despite losing the first set, Clayton’s tenacity and stamina came to the fore in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Jonathan Jaklitsch.

“I think that when I went up a break in the third set, then I felt a little bit of breathing room, but not much,” said Clayton. “It was a stressful match, there’s no doubt about that.”

COLUMBIA 4 HARVARD 3

In a matchup that may yet have wider implications in the Ivy League championship race, Columbia edged a narrow win over Harvard on Friday and avenged its ECAC Tournament final loss in February—despite the Crimson claiming the doubles point and wins at the top two singles positions.

“We’re disappointed—everyone kept competing right to the end, but it wasn’t a sharp day for us,” said Fish. “[Columbia] played great…they’re a very strong team.”

An energetic Harvard started its Ivy League season impressively in the doubles. No. 2 duo Felton and Hayes secured an 8-2 win over the Lions’ Dan Urban and Rajeev Deb-Sen, followed closely by a win at No. 1 for Clayton and Chijoff-Evans over Bogdan Borta and Mihai Nichifor (8-6). No.3 Ermakov and Omodele-Lucien added gloss to the point with an 8-4 win.

With all but one of the singles matchups requiring a third set to separate the players, Columbia clawed its way back into the match with the equalizing point—a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win for No. 2 Nichifor over Ermakov at No. 3. At No. 4, a similarly resilient Harvard performance by Felton wasn’t enough to prevent defeat—the freshman went down 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9) after a tense third-set tiebreaker with Haig Schneiderman.

At No. 5, despite saving match-points through some pinpoint passing shots, Hayes lost to Ekin Sezgen (6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9)) as the Lions went within a point of victory.

Columbia got its wish at No. 6. Against the Lions’ Deb-Sen, a tiring Omodele-Lucien fell to a 7-5, 7-6 (7-0) loss—a result greeted with triumphant roars from the Lions players and large travelling support.

“It’s disappointing—I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t [disappointing],” said Clayton. “This is just part of the Ivy League season. You never know what to expect.”

The Crimson replied in their remaining two singles at the top two courts with another set of three-set wins—No. 1 Clayton defeating Borta 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, before No. 2 Chijoff-Evans’ win over Wong (6-7, 6-4, 7-4 (7-1)).

“If anyone had said that we would win at the top two spots and win the doubles point, and not win, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Fish.

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