Men's Tennis Leaves Wolverine State Empty-Handed

The 2007 spring tennis season opened with two stiff challenges on the road for the Harvard men’s tennis team. The 75th-ranked Crimson could not muster enough horsepower out of the gates to surmount Michigan State or No. 24 Michigan, barely losing on Saturday to the Wolverines, 5-2, and dropping a 4-3 decision to the Spartans on Friday.

Harvard’s unusual academic schedule placed the Crimson in the unenviable position of opening the season against teams with much more recent experience.

“It looked like the Harvard hockey team at the Beanpot after exams,” Harvard Coach Dave Fish ’72 said of the Crimson’s rusty performance in its first two matches. “We didn’t get firing on all cylinders.”

MICHIGAN 5, HARVARD 2

Coming into Ann Arbor after just one match, Harvard knew its learning curve would have to be exceptionally steep if they hoped to upset the surging and perennially talented Michigan squad.

While the Crimson did improve by comparison to its previous match, it was overpowered early by the Wolverines, and could not pick up momentum fast enough to put a real scare into Big Blue.

“There was significant improvement on the night before,” Fish said, “but [Michigan] was whole different level of team. It has doubles that can stick with anyone in the country.”

The Wolverines swept the doubles matches to pick up their first point with relative ease, forcing Harvard into the challenging bind of having to win four of six singles matches.

At first, the Crimson looked determined to pull off the upset, winning their first sets at No. 1, 2, 4, and 5.

Harvard’s 93rd-ranked sophomore Chris Clayton, playing at No. 1, continued his strong play, beating his opponent 7-5 in the first set and, after failing to convert three match points at 5-4 in the second set, finished off No. 59 Brian Hung, 7-5.

“He had an aggressive game style,” Clayton said. “He played into my strength, my speed, allowing me to break him down mentally.”

The raucous Michigan crowd and a controversial call on Clayton’s last 5-4 match point forced him to display his grit and mental toughness in taking his second singles match of the weekend.

“There were hecklers and whatnot,” Clayton said, “but I kept my cool, my teammates were cheering me on.”

No. 5 Dan Nguyen also pulled through his share of adversity to reel in his second win of the weekend, defeating Peter Aarts, 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 1-0(4).

Nguyen led a number of times in the first set, but lost in a potentially demoralizing tiebreaker. He had to beat back three match points in the second set, but eventually won in a tiebreaker and then ran away with the supertiebreaker, 10-4.

Although no other Crimson players won their matches, all took important steps forward in the contest, according to Fish.

“Ashwin put his opponent in continual distress,” Fish said, referring to Ashwin Kumar’s match against 44th-ranked Matko Maravic at No. 2. “It’ll be a great match to build on.”

MICHIGAN STATE 4, HARVARD 3

In its first match of the season, Harvard faced Michigan State in East Lansing. The Spartans, for their part, had already played six matches, though they had lost two straight entering the contest against the Crimson.

“I would have liked to have played them having both played six matches already,” Fish said. “You learn a lot as a team that way.”

All three doubles squads opened tentatively. Kumar and freshman Michael Hayes faced the 29th-ranked doubles duo in the country at No. 1 and played them dead even for 16 games, but lost 9-8 in the tiebreaker after a seeming second-serve ace by Hayes was called out.

Senior co-captains Scott Denenberg and Gideon Valkin lost, 8-6, at No. 2, while the newly formed duo of Clayton and Nguyen saved Harvard’s doubles teams from being swept by winning, 8-4, at No. 3 despite being broken three times.

Harvard took three singles matches: No. 1 Clayton grinded out a 7-5, 7-5 win against 51st-ranked Chris Rinks, who forced Clayton to muster his first of two gutsy performances for the weekend.

At No. 5, Nguyen squeaked through a 7-5, 6-4 win with greater ease, and sophomore Michael Kalfayan breezed past his opponent, 6-0, 6-2, in the sixth spot.

—Staff writer Jonathan B. Steinman can be reached at steinman@fas.harvard.edu.