Singles Wins Help Crimson Take Match

Harvard started out slow, but saved enough energy to endure a nail-biter against St John’s. The Crimson men’s tennis team dropped the doubles point and needed three set efforts from senior captain Chris Clayton and junior Sasha Ermakov to overcome the Red Storm 5-2 on Thursday evening at the Murr Center.

Anchored by solid individual play up and down the lineup, Harvard avenged early doubles losses at the two and three positions by sweeping the top five singles matches.

“It’s always tough when you lose a doubles point,” Ermakov explained. “But in a sense it makes us a little bit hungrier out there in the singles. [The coaches] always give us the same message, that it’s a wake-up call.”

Although senior Ermakov and senior Ashwin Kumar took first doubles 8-2, senior Dan Nguyen and sophomore Mike Hayes dropped their match 8-6, as did the all-freshman team of Aba Omodele Lucien and Alexei Chijoff-Evans.

Despite this disappointment, Nguyen and Kumar responded with authority, dispatching their singles opponents in straight sets to help the Crimson to a 2-1 lead. Nguyen and Saint John’s Asaf Honig both wore protective knee sleeves, but the Harvard captain showed no sign of ailing legs as he clubbed his opponent 6-1,6-0 at four singles. Kumar, suffering from a bout of pink eye, also seemed undeterred as the number two player mixed deft volleys and timely serving to earn the Crimson’s second point with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Gustavo Loza.

The largest transition, though, appeared in the play of freshman Aba Omodele-Lucien, who took the court in third doubles and five singles.

“At three, we were playing freshman doubles,” Harvard coach Dave Fish said. “There was a certain lack of confidence in doing the right things…. But they kept fighting. Aba’s been sick and I think he was pushing really hard to get ramped up. He came back in the singles and made up for it.”

The freshman’s second effort proved crucial. After taking the first set 6-3, Omodele-Lucien earned a pivotal break at 4-4 to put the match in his hands and then served out an emotional last game to put the Crimson seemingly in control, 3-1.

Unfortunately, the tension would rise after freshman Alexei Chijoff-Evans dropped six singles 6-4, 6-3. With two close matches still in progress, Harvard needed to take at least one to earn victory.

Clayton and Ermakov did not shift focus as quickly as their teammates and, after dropping their opening sets at first and third singles, these upperclassmen knew they needed a maximum length match to get the win. Kumar had complete confidence in his teammates.

“Chris is a warrior,” Kumar said. “Even when he has lost the first set, he’s the one guy who I still believe will come back and win under any circumstance.”

Kumar’s faith proved well placed as “Colonel” Clayton roared back from a 2-6 first set to take the second 6-4. With opponent Artem Vlasenko changing his shirt due to perspiration, the Crimson captain stayed calm and focused, launching blistering serves and overcoming a late ankle strain to take the final frame 6-3.

Despite Clayton’s admirable comeback, the heroics belonged to Ermakov, who finished before the captain and truly sealed the match for Harvard. The Texas native bested Martin Kosut 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

“I’ve been on a little bit of a losing streak, lacking some confidence,” Ermakov said. “In the second set, I broke through, getting into it, getting tired. [The fatigue] actually feels good, getting to make use of all the work we’ve been doing off the court.”

Certainly, the endurance of the Crimsons players proved crucial in the three and a half hour affair.

While the team certainly hopes for stronger starts in the future, the team’s confidence can only grow heading into the Ivy League season if Harvard continues its strong play in single competition.