Men's Tennis Falls in Finals of ECAC Championships

After notching its first wins of the season in Minnesota a week ago, the Harvard men’s tennis team (4-3) ran its dual match streak to four before falling in the finals of the ECAC Division I Tennis Championship to Columbia (8-1). The top-seeded Crimson dropped just one match en route to the championship round but was swept by the second-seeded Lions.

“That was the best tennis we have ever seen [Columbia] play, so it was a bit surprising,” junior co-captain Alex Steinroeder said. “Overall, it was a good weekend. We would have liked to beat Columbia, but there are some takeaways, and we know we will be better when we play them in Ivies.”

COLUMBIA 4, HARVARD 0

In the championship, the Crimson saw its doubles dominance come to an end. After winning all four doubles sets to that point, Harvard dropped the bottom two doubles lines. Sophomore Nicky Hu and freshman Brian Yeung fell, 6-3. Not soon after, freshman Sebastian Beltrame and junior Christo Schultz, who had not yet played together in the tournament, lost the clincher, 6-4.

“[Columbia has] played well this year, and we knew we’d be in for a battle,” junior Shaun Chaudhuri said. “They definitely had a lot of experience on their team and it showed throughout the weekend.”

In singles play, Harvard was not able to take a set from Columbia. The No. 40 Lions displayed their depth, winning lines three, five, and six in quick succession. Yeung, who had not lost a tournament match to that point, notched only two games in a 6-1, 6-1 defeat. At the sixth line, Hu fell as well, 6-3, 6-2. Down 3-0,

Harvard quickly went up a set on courts one and four, with Beltrame and Nguyen taking 6-4 openers. On court two, Chaudhuri rebounded after dropping a 6-3 opener to take the second set, 6-1. But after giving up the first set, 6-1, freshman Andrew Ball was unable to extend the match, losing a close second set, 6-4.

After the loss, Chaudhuri noted that the Crimson was up in the three matches that were stopped after Ball was defeated. According to the junior, the final tally was not reflective of how close the dual match was.

“We were pretty close on courts two and three, so doubles could have gone either way,” Chaudhuri said. “In singles, we had a couple advantages in the remaining matches. I think that the match was closer than the 4-0 score [indicates].”

HARVARD 4, CORNELL 0

In the semifinals, the Crimson made short work of the Big Red (5-4). Harvard took the doubles point with wins in the top two positions. Hu and Yeung got an early break and served out a quick match, 6-3, while Nguyen and MacMaster closed out their opponents by the same score to clinch the doubles point.

In singles, Nguyen dropped only four games in a sound defeat over Cornell’s No. 1 seed, Stefan Vinti. Next, a pair of freshmen—Beltrame and Ball—came through to clinch the match. Both rookies ran away with their first sets, 6-2, before needing second-set tiebreakers to put away their opponents. It was the second consecutive match  in which Beltrame and Ball had come through with the clinching victories for Harvard.

“I think all three of the freshmen have really helped the team out a lot,” Chaudhuri said. “I think we have a great season ahead of us and have a really good opportunity to play well. They are going to be a big part of that.”

HARVARD 4, PENN 1

Entering the tournament as the top seed, Harvard kicked off its campaign with a matchup against the Quakers (1-3). The Crimson swiftly took care of its opponents in double play, dropping only three games in two matches to earn the point. Yeung and Beltrame staked Harvard out to an early lead with a 6-2 victory at the second line, while MacMaster and Nguyen dropped only one game en route to taking the clincher.

In singles, three freshmen came through in straight sets to give the Crimson the win. After Steinroeder fell in two sets, 6-1, 6-4, Yeung, Beltrame, and Ball took consecutive victories to catapult Harvard to the next round. Yeung gave up just three games at number two, while Beltrame broke opponent Jeremy Court early and often, recording a 6-1, 6-3 win.

—Staff writer David Freed can be reached at david.freed@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @CrimsonDPFreed.