Men's Tennis Wins Third ECAC Title in Four Years

The Harvard men’s tennis team (10-1) swept through Ivy League rivals Yale (4-3), Dartmouth (8-1), and Brown (8-3) en route to capturing its third ECAC title in the past four years this weekend in Hanover, N. H.

“This tournament was a good test to see where our team was in the Ivies,” said freshman Shaun Chaudhuri, who is now 8-0 in singles play. “I felt that as a team we performed really well. This was a good team effort.”

Strong singles play was a theme all weekend for Harvard, as the team won 10 of its 13 matches with a lineup that features four freshmen and only one returning starter from last year.

“The singles lineup is strong all the way through to the last guy,” Pearlman said. “There is not a lot of disparity from court one to court six, and with our depth, it has been tremendously helpful in putting pressure on other teams on a lot of courts.”

HARVARD 4, BROWN 1

The Crimson entered the championship round on Monday confident after a strong showing in the first two rounds. On the back of four single’s victories, it earned the ECAC championship title after a 4-1 victory over the Bears.

“It’s hard to stay focused over a multiple-day tournament, especially when there are four matches being played per day and you don’t know when you will get on the court,” senior Jonathan Pearlman said. “This win speaks to the mental fortitude of our team.”

In doubles play, the duo of freshman Denis Nguyen and junior Andy Nguyen and the pairing of freshman Alex Steinroeder and sophomore Christo Schultz both lost, costing Harvard the doubles point and the early lead.

But despite the 1-0 deficit, the Crimson was able to grab four straight victories and the ECAC title.

On the No.1 court, Pearlman dominated Brown’s Brandon Burke, 6-2, 6-3, while Harvard got a lift from its four through six courts once again. Shultz and freshmen Henry Steer and Shaun Chaudhuri all dominated their matches en route to a team victory.

HARVARD 4, DARTMOUTH 2

Facing the Big Green in the second round of play, Harvard captured three more singles victories to keep its championship hopes alive and advance to the finals, winning, 4-2.

The Crimson began the match strong, securing the overall doubles point for the team.

The duo of Steinroeder and Schultz easily handled Xander Centenari and Chris Ho, winning their match, 8-4, while the Nguyen duo also contributed an 8-3 win to secure the overall point.

In singles, Chaudhuri continued his winning streak by defeating Ho in a three-set battle, 7-6, 4-6, 6-1.

Pearlman also took care of business on the No. 1 court, topping Centenari, 6-4, 6-0.

After Steinroeder and Denis Nguyen both lost their matches, Schultz was able to squeak out a victory against Chris Kipouras in a three set thriller 6-3, 7-6, 14-12, giving Harvard the four points needed for the victory that sent them to the finals against Brown.

HARVARD 4, YALE 1

In the first round, the top-seeded Crimson breezed by the eighth-seeded Bulldogs with a 4-1 victory.

After the doubles pairing of Denis Nguyen and Andy Nguyen for the Crimson defeated Yale’s Erik Blumenkranz and Joel Samaha, 9-8, Harvard secured an overall team point with Schultz and Steinroeder’s 8-6 win over John Huang and Patrick Chase.

The Crimson entered singles play with a one-point advantage but dropped an early singles match at the No. 3 spot when Steinroeder fell to Yale’s Daniel Hoffman, 6-1, 6-4.

Harvard was able to rally and grab three consecutive victories with wins on the fourth through sixth courts.

On the No. 6 court, Chaudhuri remained undefeated in singles plays this year, topping Bulldog Kyle Dawson in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6.

Schultz carried momentum from his doubles victory, dominating, 6-1, 6-2, while Steer also defeated Yale’s Joel Samaha, 6-1, 7-5, in order to capture the fourth team point for Harvard and secure the victory.