M. Tennis Can't Get Past Top Competition to Open West Coast Swing

Think about spring break in California, and you’ll think of beaches. Of sun. Of relaxation. But for the No. 15 Harvard men’s tennis team, spring break in California proved somewhat less agreeable. The Crimson (9-5) fell to No. 34 California last Monday and to No. 9 Stanford on Tuesday, a quite unpleasant start to the squad’s annual west-coast trip.

“Most of [the individual matches] could have gone either way,” said associate coach Peter Mandeau, “but they didn’t fall our way.”

The matches did provide Harvard with some positives—most notable among them the solid play of senior Chris Chiou—but ultimately, the 4-3 and 5-2 losses were decidedly disappointing.

STANFORD 5, HARVARD 2

Entering the matchup with a top-10 ranking, Stanford (12-3, 2-0 Pac-10) promised to be a formidable Crimson foe. The Cardinal had lost only one of its last eight matches, and all three of its defeats came at the hands of teams which are currently also in the top 10. And the team’s home venue matches its record.

“Stanford is notorious for having hecklers,” junior Jonathan Chu explained, “and that just added to the difficulty of being on the road.”

Harvard fought fiercely in the doubles competition, losing two of the three matches 8-6. And though the senior duo of Chiou and co-captain Cliff Nguyen took the third contest 8-5—and improved to a perfect 5-0 record together—the Cardinal took the doubles point.

“It’s a combination that meshed immediately from the first time they stepped on the court,” Mandeau said of the veteran pair. “They’re both seniors, and their personalities go together really well, and their game styles have meshed up really well together.”

The ball wasn’t bouncing the Crimson’s way on Tuesday, however, and Harvard struggled in singles play as well.

Co-captain and No. 27 David Lingman fell to Stanford’s No. 23 Sam Warburg in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Senior Mark Riddell also lost a tight 7-6, 6-3 match, and though freshman Jack Li took Cardinal captain Carter Morris to three sets, Li ultimately dropped his match as well, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Also losing for Harvard was Nguyen, who had the misfortune of facing Stanford’s James Wan, a freshman who is now riding a 15-match win streak.

“Everyone fought hard today,” Chu said in defense of his teammates, adding, “Cliffy was playing some guy who’s been playing unbelievably this year.”

Chu managed to take an impressive 7-5, 7-6 victory from All-American K.C. Corkery—a win Mandeau deemed “really good for him”—and Chiou also prevailed. His victory came in an easier 6-3, 6-2 fashion, though, as the senior took all four of his matches in the two days of competition.

“He stuck to his game plan,” Mandeau said. “He stuck to being aggressive the whole time, and he was a huge presence on the court for both matches. He just did a great job.”

CALIFORNIA 4, HARVARD 3

After two weekends without a dual match, Harvard appeared ready to take on the Golden Bears (6-10, 2-3 Pac-10) on Monday. And as the score indicates, the Crimson came close.

The squad took the all-important doubles point, sweeping all three matches—an occurrence which harkens back to the squad’s early-season doubles dominance.

And, unlike the heckling which was to come at Stanford, the Crimson enjoyed a relatively mellow time at Berkeley. The matches were played on six courts which lay next to each other, unlike the next day at Palo Alto, where the matches were split into groups of three.

“We did our best to deal with playing at somebody else’s home [both times],” Chu said, although he indicated that the Stanford atmosphere which followed was somewhat more challenging.

The Golden Bears managed to stand strong on their own courts, though, as the team took the top three singles matches. Lingman pushed his contest to three sets before falling 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, but Chu fell 6-3, 6-4 and Riddell 6-3, 6-0.

Li also lost 3-6, 6-7, and the four singles defeats solidified a Golden Bears victory.

The Crimson did earn two singles wins, as Nguyen and Chiou both took their matches 6-4, 6-2.

These triumphs were not enough, though, as the squad lost its second straight dual match 4-3—the first, of course, was suffered at the hands of No. 8 Virginia Commonwealth on March 14.

Overall, the losses to California and Stanford have handed the Crimson a three-match losing streak; in fact, it is the first time Harvard has dropped consecutive outings. However, the team is careful to dwell on the long-term goals rather than the short-term disappointments.

“Even with these two losses, we’re still putting ourselves in a position to [qualify for the NCAA tournament],” Mandeau explained. “We’re still the highest ranked team in the region, and things are moving in a forward direction. Even with the losses, we’re still doing OK.”

Chu agreed, adding that “up and down the lineup, we’re all fighting hard, we’re all trying our best.

“When we all get on the same page,” he added, “which is hopefully what will happen by the NCAAs, we’re going to be tough to beat if not impossible to beat.”