No. 47 Harvard Falls to No. 22 Columbia and No. 29 Cornell

The No. 47 Harvard men’s tennis team (13-12, 3-3 Ivy) lost both matches on the road this weekend in New York, falling 4-2 to No. 22 Columbia (16-6, 6-0) on Saturday and No. 29 Cornell (17-3, 5-1) on Sunday.

Harvard 2, Columbia 4

After a dominant weekend where the Crimson swept Brown and handily defeated its rival, Yale, Harvard traveled down to the Big Apple for a difficult match-up against Columbia, which is undefeated in the Ancient Eight. Notably, the Lions’ lineup is anchored by senior No. 5 Michael Zheng, the back-to-back NCAA singles tennis champion.

In doubles play, the Crimson started behind due to a loss on court one, with freshman Kolos Kincses and junior Rohan Murali falling in a tiebreak, 7-6 (3). Harvard captain Melchior Delloye and freshman Nathan Blokhin kept the hopes of getting the doubles point alive with a win in a tiebreak on court two, 7-6 (6).

This put all eyes on court three, where junior James McDonald and senior Masato Perera needed the win to clinch the doubles point. Unfortunately for the Crimson, the duo fell in another tough match that went into a tiebreak, losing 7-6 (2).

The trend of tie-break matches was broken immediately in singles play. The Crimson deepened its deficit with a loss on court four, as Delloye fell in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. Soon after, to give Harvard its first point, Perera responded with a dominant win on court five, 6-2, 6-4.

No. 99 Blokhin followed it up with a victory on court three in straight sets to even the score at two. This put pressure on courts one, two, and six as the team that won two of the final three would take home the victory.

Much to the Crimson’s dismay, No. 52 Murali was the first to fall in this race with a loss to Zheng on court one, pushing the champion, but still losing in straight sets 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Despite the match on court six extending into a third set, sophomore Mitchell Lee did not finish the game, as the Lions secured the final point by defeating sophomore Benjamin Privara on court two in a tiebreaker.

Unfortunately, the close matches did not translate into a win for Harvard. Columbia claimed the doubles point and three of the six singles matches, spoiling the first leg of the Crimson’s New York trip.

Harvard 2, Cornell 4

Harvard’s loss against Cornell the following day dropped the team into fifth place in the Ivy League rankings.

Once again, the Crimson fell behind early as it surrendered the doubles point with losses on courts two and three. Murali and Kincses were the only Harvard pair to come out on top, cruising to a 6-3 win on the first court.

In singles play, Delloye was the first to fall, losing in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 on court four. This mounted pressure on the Crimson as the Big Red suddenly held a two-point lead, continuing a notable pattern for Harvard over the weekend.

Continuing the trend of Saturday’s match, the Crimson responded and got its first point. The glimmer of hope for Harvard came from court three, where Blokhin won in a three-set match 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

Soon after, Lee delivered a victory on court six in straight sets, giving the Crimson a fighting chance by evening the score. Harvard successfully shifted the pressure onto Cornell, given there was a real possibility of it squandering its initial lead.

However, the Big Red responded in fashion. Cornell handed Murali and Privara losses on courts one and two, respectively, in tough three-set matches. The match on court six had gone to a third set, but did not finish. For what it is worth, if Harvard had won on either court one or two, the match would have been tied, making court six the deciding match. At the time of stoppage, that match was tied 2-2 in the third set, which would have made for a photo finish.

The Crimson’s final match in Ivy League play will be at home on Sunday against Dartmouth (15-10, 3-3). The match will be an opportunity for Harvard to gain momentum and end Ivy League play on a high note. With the NCAA Tournament looming around the corner, a victory for the Crimson could help secure a position within the competition.