Play Continues Despite Hampered Lineup

Competing during a holiday that thrives off of fear, the Harvard men’s tennis team was not intimidated in the Harvard Halloween Tennis Tournament over the weekend, recording eight wins overall in singles and doubles play. Co-captain Michael Hayes and freshman Tunc Kiymaz reached the finals in their respective A and B singles flights. The tournament was played in spite of a number of illnesses and injuries that plagued the Crimson squad.

“We were not as healthy as we would’ve liked to have been this weekend,” Harvard coach Dave Fish ’72 said. “The colds and minor injuries just come with this time of the season.”

But the show must go on.

Five Crimson players competed in Flight A singles, with two reaching the quarterfinals and Hayes making the final round. Sophomore Davis Mangham made a run to the singles quarterfinals, defeating Darthmouth’s Andrew Malizia, 6-4, 6-1, and eventually falling to the Big Green’s No. 1 contender Dan Freeman, who went on to win Flight A.

Hayes’ trip to the finals had a rocky beginning. The senior played in a three-set match in the first round before gaining momentum in later matches. He defeated Dartmouth’s Chris Ho, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, in the first round, the Big Green’s Curtis Roby, 7-6, 6-3, in the quarterfinals, and Brown’s Andrew Yazmer, 6-7, 6-2, 10-6, in the semifinals before losing to Freeman 6-4, 6,4 in the final round of Flight A.

Hayes’ performance was a highlight of the Halloween tournament.

“This was the best Mike has played in the last two seasons,” Fish said. “He played a close match against the best Dartmouth player and really played superb tennis.”

Another strong performance came from newcomer Tunc Kiymaz, who, like Hayes, reached the final round of his flight before losing to a talented Dartmouth contender. In his path to the final round, Kiymaz defeated MIT’s Brian Oldfield, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1, in the first round and Brandeis’ Steven Nieman, 7-5, 6-4. The Big Green’s Kevin Cox won Flight B after beating Kiymaz, 6-1, 6-1.

“Tunc has done a really good job this season and in this tournament especially,” Fish said. “He’s an extremely hard worker and continues to get better on a daily basis.”

Kiymaz sees the tournament as a chance to gain experience for the upcoming season.

“Getting my first few wins under my belt definitely builds up my confidence,” Kiymaz said. “For me, being able to play in the tournament was a great opportunity to play against big hitters in the conference.”

In doubles play, sophomore Mac McAnulty and Kiymaz fell in the first round to Brandeis duo Steven Nieman and Nick White, 8-2, while Hayes and Mangham reached the semifinal round before being overcome by Freeman and Malizia of Dartmouth, 9-8 (7-4).

Although the tournament did not produce ideal results, it provided the chance to grow as a team and prepare for the spring season.

“The point of the tournament was for our guys to get more play,” Fish said. “Our season is all about building and comes down to the Ivy dual matches in April.”

“This weekend gave us the chance to see some Ivy competition,” Kiymaz said. “We competed against Dartmouth and Brown and got to see those players again before conference season.”

For the Harvard team, success will come from continued training before spring conference play.

“The guys need to continue working hard,” Fish said. “Results for our season depend on what [the players] do in the upcoming period until January.”

Once the injuries and illnesses subside, wins may come more easily for the Crimson.

“We’re excited to see how me match up when we’re at full strength,” Kiymaz said. “With all of our guys back and healthy, we’ll be able to see who really is the best and hopefully come out strong in the spring season.”

“This was a good last competition in the fall before we start working individually for conference,” Fish said. “And so far, we like what we see.”