M. Tennis Sweeps Weekend, Stays Perfect on Season

It’s hard to improve upon perfection, but at least the Harvard men’s tennis team didn’t disappoint anyone this weekend. The Crimson maintained its unbeaten status, improving to 5-0 with a pair of wins over Fresno State and Charleston Southern.

Harvard 5, Fresno St. 2

Saturday’s contest with Fresno was a match among equals. The Crimson entered the match ranked No. 44 nationally, and the Bulldogs were ranked No. 48.

The team’s parity ended there, however, and it surely wasn’t seen on the Murr Center’s courts. Harvard’s second doubles team of freshman Jonathan Chu and junior Oliver Choo beat Fresno’s team 8-5, and captain Dalibor Snyder and sophomore Mark Riddell won 8-6, giving Harvard the doubles point.

In singles competition, sophomore Dave Lingman defeated Fresno’s Nick Fustar 7-6, 6-4 in first singles.

The Bulldogs evened the score, though, when Harvard freshman Brian Wan and sophomore George Turner fell in second and third singles, respectively.

Choo, playing No. 4 singles, took a long three-set match 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Sophomore Cliff Nguyen and captain William Lee won in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots to seal the victory for Harvard.

‘We were expecting a tougher match against Fresno than against Charleston Southern,” Associate Tennis Coach Peter Mandeau said. “They’re a tough team, and we fought hard in every match.”

Harvard 7, Charleston Southern 0

The Crimson took all three doubles matches from the Buccaneers to jump ahead 1-0 and never looked back.

Snyder and Riddell won 8-3 in the third slot, Lingman and sophomore Chris Chiou won 8-1 in the No. 2 doublles, and the 19th-ranked team of Chu and Choo won 8-5 at the top spot.

‘We got off to a really good start in the doubles, and the momentum stayed on our side the whole time,” Mandeau said.

The Crimson swept the singles matches, despite switching its lineup around. Riddell and Chu stepped in for Wan and Choo and the Crimson didn’t miss a beat.

“We’ve got a strong team in terms of depth,” Chu said. “We’ve got more than 10 guys who are capable of filling in the six spots we have for singles.”

The Crimson’s next match is on March 9th at 4 p.m. against Northwestern. The match will take place at home on the Murr Center Courts, which should help Harvard maintain its winning streak.

‘Playing at home is a comfortable situation for us,” Mandeau said.