Harvard Holds Up In Home Tourney

They came, they saw, but they did not conquer the Harvard men’s tennis team. That was the case for Alabama or Notre Dame at the Harvard Fall Classic Tournament this weekend, where the young Crimson squad held its own against some tough competition.

“It was a really good weekend for us,” captain Michael Hayes said.

For Harvard and for its opponents, the weekend was about testing themselves.

“Going into it, we knew that the three teams were all top-notch,” junior Aba Omodele-Lucien said. “We were looking at it as an opportunity to improve our games against really tough opponents. We were really looking forward to this weekend, and that attitude really helped.”

“Every guy on our lineup has been improving,” Harvard coach Dave Fish said. “That’s been a pleasant surprise. We have some very good depth, eight-plus solid players [and] some guys after that who are right on their heels.”

The improvement is especially encouraging considering the youth of the team, with Hayes being the only senior.

“It’s interesting,” Hayes said of being the lone senior. “It’s a lot of responsibility. But the freshmen we’ve got are great. They’re a very easy group of freshmen to work with. They bring a lot of energy.”

Freshman Andy Nguyen, in particular, has been impressing this fall and went 3-0 for the weekend.

Nguyen was named the Corey Winn Freshman Player to Watch at the tournament.

Omodele-Lucien played doubles with the freshman this weekend and got to observe his abilities first-hand. For the junior, the experience was one of déja vu, as Nguyen’s brother Dan ’08 was Omodele-Lucien’s doubles partner in his freshman year.

“Extremely talented,” Omodele-Lucien said of the younger Nguyen. “He has a lot of potential. He strikes the ball extremely well. He’s very level-headed, which is one of the hardest things to master. He’s got all the tools, and he’s very athletic, and if he stays focused, he’ll do a lot for the team and for himself.”

Omodele-Lucien was the other star of the weekend, going 2-1 at the number one singles spot for the tournament.

“He beat some ranked players, which is a big deal,” Hayes said.

“That was a really strong performance,” Fish added. “This is really the best sustained play we’ve seen from him.”

“I’m just trying to get better and better,” Omodele-Lucien said. “I’m motivated for my team and for myself, and I think they’re interrelated. And what’s more important, I’m being efficient and practicing the correct things.”

Omodele-Lucien substituted in the top spot for junior Alexei Chijoff-Evans, who was at the All-American National Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Chijoff-Evans lost in the first round to Kallim Stewart of UCLA, 6-1, 6-1. He recieved a bye to the second round of the consolation draw, where he lost to Robin Fahgen of SMU, 6-1, 6-3.

With Chijoff-Evans away, Omodele-Lucien enjoyed the spotlight.

“I love playing against great competition,” he said. “I don’t shy away from that. Playing the top guys is really exciting, and I get to test my ability.”

Dino Bilankov of Minnesota hit Omodele-Lucien with his lone singles loss of the weekend, 6-4, 6-4.

Minnesota was the toughest competition for the Crimson, and only Nguyen and sophomores Alistair Felton and Liinus Hietanmiemi managed victories. Harvard had been much more competitive the day before against Notre Dame.

“We squeezed out a bunch of victories against Notre Dame,” Omodele-Lucien said. “We battled against Minnesota, but we lost.”

The Crimson’s best performance came Sunday against Alabama, the highest ranked of the four teams last spring. Like Harvard, The Crimson Tide was missing its top player, and Cambridge’s Crimson was able to capitalize on these absences.

The day was especially rewarding for Hayes, who struggled against Notre Dame and Minnesota.

“In the third day, I turned it around,” he said. “Next weekend, we have the Northeast Regionals. It was good for me to get some confidence going into that tournament.”

Hayes lost the first set but rallied to win the match against Trey Walston, 4-6, 6-4, 10-7.

For all four schools, the tournament was a chance to test their skills against strong competition.

“This format allowed very good teams to come together,” Fish said. “It allows [us] to see how our players are [compared] to each other and to other teams.”