Although its quest to defend its title as ECAC Champions didn’t go quite as planned, the Crimson (8-5) faced off against three Ivy League opponents in an early showcase that serves as a preview of the upcoming Ivy League season.

Harvard 3, Penn 4

Fresh off a convincing 4-0 sweep of Boston University, the Crimson traveled to Princeton, N.J., where it opened its 2026 ECAC campaign against Penn (6-3). The team started off hot in the doubles round, winning the doubles point thanks to stellar performances by the pairs of freshman Kolos Kincses and junior Rohan Murali, as well as junior James MacDonald and senior Masato Perera. Both partnerships have been extremely sharp this season and proved it with their respective 6-2 and 6-4 wins.

Unlike its other matches this season, though, Harvard’s doubles momentum failed to spark success in the following singles matches. Even against good wins from Perera and sophomore Mitchell Lee, the Quakers kicked their play to a new gear, dethroning No. 34 Murali on court two and No. 27 freshman Nathan Blokhin on court three in straight sets. Blokhin played his match against another ranked opponent, No. 70 Shaurya Bharadwaj, but fell to the underdog 4-6, 2-6.

Both Murali and Blokhin have been huge for the Crimson this season, but the losses ended up hurting the Crimson’s chance to win the match when senior Marc Ktiri lost a challenging three-setter 6-0, 2-6, 5-7 on court six. Penn had upset Harvard 4-3, ending the Crimson’s repeat bid in its first match of the weekend.

Despite the tough loss, Harvard rounded off the weekend with wins against Dartmouth (7-3) and its archrival Yale (7-3).

Harvard 4, Dartmouth 0

Against the Big Green, the doubles point was once again secured by the Crimson, with dominating performances from duos Kincses and Murali as well as MacDonald and Perera. Kincses and Murali bageled Dartmouth 6-0, while MacDonald and Perera followed with a nice 6-3 clincher on court three.

During singles play, Murali and Blokhin got revenge for their singles losses to Penn, avenging themselves with 6-1, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-2 performances, respectively. Down 3-0 in points, Dartmouth stood no chance against Harvard, with Lee capping off the sweep on court five with a 7-5, 6-2 finish.

Harvard 4, Yale 2

On Sunday, hoping to leave New Jersey with a statement win, the Crimson faced off against Yale. However, Harvard shockingly dropped the doubles point. Sophomore Benjamin Privara and Blokhin lost 3-6 against the No. 14 Bulldogs’ top doubles team. Despite Kincses and Murali holding firm on court two with a 6-2 win, Perera and MacDonald fell 4-6 to hand the doubles point and first blow to Yale.

This season, until this contest, the Crimson had not claimed victory in a match when it lost the doubles point.

Perhaps it was the historic rivalry or the extra edge of competitiveness, but Harvard needed to perform at its best in singles play to secure the win. The Crimson sure delivered, with Blokhin winning his match in straight-set fashion. Ktiri then won a straight-sets match on court six, and Perera beat Yale’s Jim Ji 6-4, 6-4 on court four.

Suddenly, Harvard was up 3-1 and had all the momentum in its favor. Even with a narrow loss 6-7 (6), 3-6 from Privara against his top-50 opponent on court one, No. 34 Murali got the job done, winning a three-setter on court two to give the Crimson a sweet 4-2 win.

Harvard takes a well-deserved two-week break before opening up the month of March with a doubleheader against No. 24 Pepperdine University and Bryant University. These will be the last home matches before the team embarks on a spring break trip out west to California.

—Staff writer Alex S. Kim can be reached at [email protected].