SPORTS BRIEF: At ITA Regionals, two Harvard doubles teams reach quarterfinals

The Harvard men’s tennis team had a pair of doubles tandems reach the quarterfinals of the Wilson/ITA Regional Championship over the weekend in Philadelphia.

The Crimson’s top-ranked pair, sophomore Sasha Ermakov and junior Ashwin Kumar, defeated Sam Berrer and Nolan Greenberg of Delaware in the Round of 32 and then beat Georgetown’s Jeff Schnell and Kevin Walsh to make it to the Elite Eight. Their run stopped there, however, as Penn State’s Michael James and Adam Slagter took an 8-5 decision.

Harvard’s second-ranked doubles pair, seniors Scott Denenberg and Gideon Valkin, had a similar run through the draw. They defeated Penn State’s Brendan Lynch and Guillaume St. Maurice in their initial match and then beat Dartmouth’s Daniel Freeman and Dave Waslen in the round of 16. Denenberg and Valkin fell to Dan Henegby and Dan Lee of Brown in the Quarters by an 8-2 tally, preventing a potential Harvard vs. Harvard matchup in the finals.

In the singles draw, sophomore Chris Clayton won two of three matches, beating Ira Reibsen of Bucknell and Luka Djordjevic of Hofstra before bowing out to Penn’s Jason Pinsky.

Fellow Harvard sophomore Michael Kalfayan beat Manhattan’s Filip Syzmik before falling in the round of 16 to Faisel Mohad of Binghamton.

The fall tournament season for the Crimson men continues at the Dartmouth Invitational, which takes place over the weekend of Friday, Nov. 3.