Men's Tennis Splits Weekend Matches Against Memphis, BU

This Sunday, the Harvard men’s tennis team hosted a doubleheader against No. 44 Memphis and Boston University at the Murr Tennis Center. The Crimson, following a close one point loss to the Tigers, made quick work of their crosstown rival with a dominating 6-1 victory.

Going 1-1 on the weekend, the result continued an up-and-down trend for the team’s first half of the season, leaving their win percentage just above the halfway mark at .538 percent.

“I thought we had great energy in both matches,” junior Xavier Gonzalez said. “The team had a phenomenal fighting spirit.”

HARVARD, 6, BOSTON UNIVERSITY, 1

Rebounding from an afternoon loss to Memphis, Harvard (7-6) recorded a resounding win over Boston University (6-1).

The Crimson swept the doubles competition. Leading off for Harvard in the number one position was the duo of senior Brian Yeung and sophomore Michael Peters with a 6-0 victory. They were followed by a 7-6 tiebreak win for second doubles players sophomore Christopher Morrow and freshman Logan Weber and a 6-4 win for freshman Galen Lee and sophomore Samuel Beren at third doubles. These victories secured the doubles point for the Crimson, its third of the team’s last four matches.

Harvard then continued its dominance with five wins out of six singles matches, led by junior Kenny Tao and Beren in the first and second positions. At third singles, Lee claimed a 6-3, 6-1 victory.

“I looked down the court and saw a lot of the guys really going after the ball and committing to it,” Lee said. “These matches mean so much to the guys lower in the line-up, and we had good energy on the court.”

Gonzalez and Peters rounded out the victories with 7-6, 6-1 games in the fifth and 6-3, 6-3 wins in the sixth singles positions, respectively.

MEMPHIS, 4, HARVARD, 3

The Crimson began the day with a highly-contested doubles face-off against a high-ranking Tigers team. The team stayed neck-and-neck with Memphis (7-2) and battled back from behind in two matches to ultimately earn the doubles point.

However, that impressive performance could not salvage the afternoon, as the hosts fell in a 4-3 nailbiter overall.

The high point of the contest came in the play of Tao and Yeung. That duo claimed its fifth doubles victory in a row with a 7-5 win. The streak of dominance bodes well for the program in future matchups, as many contests hinge on that elusive doubles point.

Though junior co-captain Jean Thirouin and Peters fell in a close 7-6 matchup at second doubles, Morrow and rookie Weber earned a decisive 6-3 victory at the third doubles to win Harvard the doubles point.

The singles matches were similarly tight, with Thirouin battling for a win in three sets at third singles and Morrow defeating Tiger sophomore Felix Rauch 6-4, 6-3 at sixth singles. Memphis then tied things up with victories at first, second, and fourth singles.

The deciding point came down to the fifth singles match between junior Grant Solomon and Tiger freshman, Jan Pallares. Both of the first two sets ended in a 7-6 tiebreak, the first set going to Solomon and the second to Pallares.

Halfway into the third set with Memphis up 3-1, Solomon came down with cramps, forcing him to default and securing the win for the Tigers.

“That was a tough play to lose the match at 3-all,” Lee said. “But overall it was so much fun because all the guys were cheering really loudly and it was a close match.”

The team defeat prevented the Crimson from claiming its first weekend sweep of the season. Harvard has bounced from victory to failure throughout 2017, at one point seesawing between wins and losses for eight straight contests.

With at least 12 matches remaining, including the bulk of conference play, the team must rack up consistent wins to make noise in the Ancient Eight and beyond.

The Crimson will have a chance to rest up in the next week, as its next matches will come over spring break, when the team will travel to San Diego to train and compete in preparation for the Ivy season. By that time, Harvard is hoping to welcome back co-captain Sebastian Beltrame, who has been sidelined with a foot injury.