M. Tennis Solid on Roadtrip

The Harvard men’s tennis team turned in sound performances in the Notre Dame and Brown Invitationals last weekend, while tinkering with its doubles pairings and singles lineup.

The two contests count for ITA and national singles and doubles rankings, and the tactical maneuvering helps prepare for ECACs, the first team competition of the season, which takes place Oct. 4-7 in Flushing Meadows, NY.

“I think the coaches were pleasantly surprised,” co-captain Oli Choo said. “The weekend showed that we could be successful with a lot of different doubles combinations.”

Nine Crimson players traveled to Notre Dame’s Tom Fallon Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. Junior transfer Jordan Bohnen was the lone new player on the squad to make the trip.

Harvard went 16-5 in singles and 11-4 in doubles while facing nationally-ranked opponents from Brown, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan and William & Mary.

Inclement weather forced the Crimson to play four rounds of doubles indoors on the first day, when the squad when 9-5 overall. Most notable for Harvard was junior Mark Riddell, who posted four victories with four different doubles partners.

Riddell was undefeated for the entire weekend, going 3-0 in singles and picking up another doubles win on Saturday with junior Cliff Nguyen.

The duo of Choo and sophomore Jonathan Chu, which entered the weekend ranked No. 24 in the nation, went 2-0 on Friday. The tandem was the Crimson’s most consistent doubles team last year.

Saturday featured the first singles matches of the year, and the Crimson sent out an early warning to national foes by going 11-3 on the day. Harvard finished out the weekend strong with a 5-2 record in singles Sunday, including straight set victories for Nguyen and classmate George Turner.

“I’m excited to see the season coming along,” co-captain David Lingman said. “I think the team looks better this year than any team I’ve been on before, and we’re starting the season with a lot of enthusiasm.”

Junior Chris Chiou was forced to forfeit his singles match on Sunday due to a sprained ankle, but he is most probably going to be able to compete next weekend.

Meanwhile, two Crimson rookies tasted success in their first collegiate competition by winning the B-Flight Doubles at the Northeast Collegiate Invitational, held at Brown.

Freshmen Brandon Chiu and Caleb Gardner triumphed over David Webb and Andres Reyes from Dartmouth to capture the title.

“Coming from playing juniors, I thought that this was different in a good way,” Gardner said. “It was the first time I’d won something and been part of a team at the same time, and it’s something I hope to continue.”

The second and final tune-up before the ECACs is the Harvard Invitational, taking place next Friday through Sunday at the Beren Tennis Center. The event marks Harvard’s only host opportunity in the fall.