Men's Tennis Notches Two Weekend Wins

When all the serves were completed, volleys finished, and shots hit, the Harvard men’s tennis team completed its weekend with a sweep as well as its 11th and 12th consecutive wins. On Friday and Sunday afternoons, the Crimson defeated Binghamton (7-11), 7-0, and St. John’s (15-6), 5-2, respectively, at the Murr Center.

“It was a good weekend,” junior Andy Ngyuen said. “It made us feel confident coming into the Ivy League, but it also humbled us. We realized that there are really good teams out there, and the rest of the season, with Ivies, isn’t going to be any different.”

HARVARD 5, ST. JOHN’S 2

Playing its first outdoor match of the season, Harvard (16-1) found itself in a close, even match with the Red Storm from the first point to the closing shot.

“St. John’s came out ready,” freshman Shaun Chaudhuri said. “They were fighting really hard and a lot of us went into the third set. It was definitely a battle out there, and we’re just happy to be able to pull through.”

Afte winning the doubles point, the struggles began for the home team and it quickly found itself down in four out of six matches. But three hours into the match brought something unexpected—rain.

The weather forced the remainder of the games to be played inside. Only freshman Denis Nguyen’s match, a 6-3, 6-2, win, had been completed before the move occurred.

“Personally, I struggled more in the outside play,” Chaudhuri said. “It’s different playing out there, and I think a lot of our team benefited by coming back indoors. Either way, you’re still playing tennis though.”

Sophomore Christo Schultz’s match was the first to finish in the indoor courts as he fell, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6. Soon after, senior Jonathan Pearlman also fell to St. John’s, 0-6, 7-6, 5-7, after coming back from an 0-6, 1-3, hole.

Fortunately for the Crimson, Chaudhuri pulled off a timely victory and cracked his opponent, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. Rookies Henry Steer and Alex Steinroeder followed their classmate’s lead, and each finished up their matches with a win. Steer took his match 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, while Steinroeder completed the day with a 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 come-from-behind victory.

HARVARD 7, BINGHAMTON 0

This victory marked Harvard’s fourth sweep of an opponent this spring and its second in 7-0 fashion.

In doubles play, the Crimson took two out of three matches, winning on the No. 2 and 3 courts while undergoing its only loss of the day in the No. 1 spot.

While co-captain Alistair Felton and sophomore Casey MacMaster were defeated by their Bearcat counterparts, 9-7, Pearlman and Schultz handily beat their competition, 8-2. To earn the doubles point, the Nguyen brothers underwent a lengthy match, ultimately resulting in a 9-8 win.

“[Denis Nguyen and I] have been trying to play with more energy and not worry about anything,” Andy Nugyen said. “We had to play a really long point, come back, and save a match point, but we’re a great pair and have done well so far this season, so we knew that if we just played freely we would continue our ways.”

Harvard had even more success in singles play.

The team was victorious all six of its matches and went to three sets only once.

Steer won his match, 6-2, 6-4, while Steinroeder took care of his opponent, 6-4, 6-2.

Pearlman, coming off of his doubles victory, had no problem in the No. 1 position and finished his sets, 6-2, 7-5. Denis Nguyen, also playing only minutes after his last match, quickly wrapped up his second appearance of the day, 6-3, 6-1. Schultz continued his unbeaten spring season when he won 7-5, 6-0, and Chaudhuri concluded the day’s work for the Crimson when he finished up his match 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

For Harvard, this weekend’s set of matches was viewed as a jumping-off point for Ivy play.

“We’re going to just stay confident,” Nguyen said. “We know that pretty much all the Ivy teams are going to be gunning for us, so we can’t play reserved. We have something to lose. We have to still go after it.”

—Staff writer Juliet Spies-Gans can be reached at jspiesgans@college.harvard.edu.