Harvard Men’s Tennis Finishes Busy Weekend in Boston and ITA Sectionals

In the midst of midterm exams and chilly weather, Harvard men’s tennis competed in two tournaments in the penultimate weekend of its fall season. The red-hot Crimson first took the courts at home against Boston University in the “Battle of Boston” before sending four players to Charlottesville, Va., to play in the ITA East Sectional Championship as well.

For the Battle of Boston, Harvard played a unique BU team that fielded a lineup without any freshmen. The Crimson, conversely, saw continued excellence from its talented freshman class

Last season, the Harvard handily swept aside BU en route to a comfortable 5-2 margin of victory on both days of action for a 10-4 win. This time around, the gap between the two Division I foes was even wider, with the Crimson going a perfect 8-0 on day one and 6-2 on day two.

Powered by a combination of seniors and rising rookies, Harvard sent the Terriers scampering back along the Charles River with their tails between their legs. In doubles, the upperclassmen duo of junior Benjamin Privara and captain James MacDonald logged a resounding 6-0 win over BU juniors Xiaoyao Dai and Payton Jim-On. MacDonald went undefeated over the weekend in doubles and rolled through his two singles matches, defeating BU’s Bernadsky 6-2, 6-1 and junior Jaydon Barki in a double bagel 6-0, 6-0. Privara also registered dominant singles wins as well, defeating Payton Jim-On and sophomore David Asenov in straight sets respectively.

Meanwhile, sophomore Noah Gilligan continued to see more action this season, teaming up with freshman phenom Zachary Cohen for a tidy 6-1 win. Gilligan also partnered with freshman RJ Kuo for a day two doubles victory over Xiaoyao Dai and junior Andrew Andea 6-2. For singles, Gilligan notched a gritty three-set win against Ege Topkoc 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 on day one before falling on day two to Andea.

Cohen, another five-star recruit and part of a staggering top-10 recruiting class for Harvard, keeps rolling in the fall season. He went undefeated over the weekend, with solid straight-set victories in singles over David Asenov and David Dai. Kuo, on the other hand, played well in the action that he got, defeating Jaydon Barki 6-4, 6-1 before falling to Ege Topkoc in a tight three-setter.

Finally, freshman David Wu continued his busy schedule and season, logging eight matches over the course of the past week. Wu, a five-star recruit and one of the Crimson’s highest-ranked prospects, had to tap into his physical endurance this past weekend. Despite the heavy workload, Wu dominated the two singles matches he played, beating David Dai in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 and defeating Jim-On in a three-setter.

It’s evident that all the players present in the Battle of Boston will be essential for the Crimson’s success come springtime, when they’re likely to make their presence felt on both the singles and doubles courts come Ivy League duals and NCAA team tournaments.

While the Crimson had large bouts of success in Boston, the team provided more mixed results at the ITA East Sectional Championship. Although the competition was certainly harder than a regular tournament, freshman Bill Chan, junior Mitchell Lee, sophomore Kolos Kincses, and captain Rohan Murali performed on a solid level.

Chan, another highly-touted freshman recruit, lost a tough day one match to South Carolina senior Sean Daryabeigi, 0-6, 1-6. It was certainly a “welcome-to-college-tennis” moment for the player from Singapore, as Chan has had a great start to his collegiate career so far. Despite this loss, Chan bounced back in the consolation draw, defeating the #3 seed of the tournament from Clemson, senior Noa Vukadin, before falling to another Palmetto State foe, South Carolina sophomore Charlie Swaine, in a tight 3-setter, and junior Andrew Kotzen from Columbia.

For Lee, on the other hand, he narrowly missed a second-round appearance in the ITA Sectional, losing to the #7 seed sophomore Ian Mayew from North Carolina 4-6, 6-4, 4-6. Despite this, Lee progressed smoothly in the consolation round, winning the rest of his matches in convincing fashion, beating Ivy League rival freshman Damir Zhalgasbay from Columbia 7-6(4), 6-2 and getting revenge for Chan in a 6-1, 7-6(6) win over Swaine.

Murali and Kincses entered the tournament poised as a top-notch doubles team. The pair have been nearly unstoppable this fall season and will likely represent the Crimson on one of the top doubles courts for the spring. On day one, the pair won in straight sets against junior Max Stenzer and Daryabeigi of South Carolina 6-4, 6-4. However, the momentum didn’t last past day two, when the duo narrowly lost to Ivy League competitors junior Ivan Sodan and sophomore Robert Yang of Brown in a bitter three-setter. Kincses ended his ITA Sectional tournament with a singles victory, however, in an extra match against sophomore Andrew Ena of Columbia.

While these two tournaments serve as the end for most of the players’ fall seasons, there is plenty to be impressed with. Instead of shying away, several freshmen proved their mettle by posting winning records throughout the fall season, while returning players won key matches against difficult opponents. Now, Murali heads to Athens, Georgia, to compete in the NCAA Singles Championship to face the best in the country. The No. 25-ranked Murali is looking to make some loud noise for the Crimson.

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