Ivy Title Chances Dashed in Weekend Split

At the start of a hectic Easter Weekend, the Harvard men’s tennis team sought to resurrect its Ivy League championship prospects.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, it proved too hard a feat.

With its Ancient Eight defense faltering, Harvard (10-9, 2-2 Ivy) took to the open road to face-off against former title challengers Princeton (11-8, 3-2 Ivy) and Penn (10-10, 1-4 Ivy). In a mixed outcome, the Crimson fell to a narrow defeat against the Tigers but delivered a solid win over the Quakers—characteristic of an unusually unpredictable Ivy League season.

“It’s a strange league—[all] the teams are very even. We could easily be the top team in the league,” head coach David Fish ’72 said. “It’s topsy-turvy...you never really know what kind of surprises are in store.”

HARVARD 5, PENN 2

Following the previous day’s loss to Princeton, the Crimson looked to salvage some pride on Saturday in Philadelphia, against a Penn team with only one win in its Ivy League season. With a senior class looking to finish with a flourish, Harvard recorded a morale-boosting win.

“The guys responded really well against Penn,” Fish said.

An overpowering sweep of the doubles set the tone for the Crimson. At No. 2, the partnership of sophomore Aba Omodele-Lucien and senior Sasha Ermakov won resoundingly against Justen Roth and Phil Law (8-2), followed by a point-clinching win for the No. 3 pairing of junior Michael Hayes and freshman Alistair Felton (8-1). Gloss was duly applied at No. 1; sophomore Alexei Chijoff-Evans and co-captain Chris Clayton fought back against the Quaker’s Hicham Laalej and Adam Schwartz to win 8-7 (7-5).

Harvard continued to dominate in the singles. At No. 2, Chijoff-Evans defeated Jonathan Boym in a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1 win, doubling the Crimson advantage.

But a stirring Penn comeback leveled the scores. Straight set defeats at No’s 4 and 5 for freshmen Davis Mangham and Felton—6-2, 6-2 and 6-4, 6-3 respectively—set the stage for a tight finale.

With three points remaining, Harvard’s seasoned veterans took center stage.

The Crimson regained the lead through the groundstrokes of No. 3 Sasha Ermakov, overcoming Schwartz in a 6-2, 6-4 win. With the Quakers on the edge, senior co-captain Michael Kalfayan, restored to the starting line-up, clinched the match in dramatic fashion—winning at No. 6 in a third set tiebreaker, fighting back from a set down for the win (4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)).

“[Kalfayan] has been playing superb tennis in practice,” Fish said. “It was finally time for him to get a chance.”

PRINCETON 4, HARVARD 3

In a difficult matchup, the Crimson took to the Jadwin Gym courts in New Jersey on Friday, needing a win to boost its Ivy League title chances. With the stakes high, it was the Tigers who edged a closely-fought battle.

“It’s just one of those really tough losses, where we needed maybe a couple of days just to get our guys back and together,” Fish said. “Princeton didn’t miss a beat.”

Harvard’s winning prospects improved with an opening victory in the doubles. At No. 2, the partnership of Ermakov and Omodele-Lucien overcame Princeton’s Ryan Kim and Ilya Trubov (8-4).

It was to prove a false omen. No. 3 partnership Hayes and Felton fell to an 8-3 defeat, while the No.1 combination of tenacity and power—Clayton and Chijoff-Evans—was unable to defeat counterparts Peter Capkovic and Alex Vuckovic—the duo clinching the doubles point (8-5) and a psychological boost for Princeton.

The Tigers proceeded to build on their advantage in the singles. At No. 1, Capkovic—the 2008 Ivy League Player of the Year—raced to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Clayton, doubling Princeton’s lead.

The Crimson secured parity with a pair of victories. At No. 3, Ermakov recorded his second win of the day with a stylish win over Kim (6-2, 6-2). Avenging his doubles loss, No. 2 Chijoff-Evans defeated Vuckovic, rallying Harvard’s comeback with a second set tiebreaker win (6-2, 7-6 (3)).

With the momentum swinging, the Tigers’ response settled the outcome.

At No. 6, Hayes lost 6-2, 6-4 to Charlie Brosens, leaving the Crimson on the brink of defeat. The team’s fate was sealed shortly after at No. 3—Felton, unable to send his game into a third set in a tiebreaker, was defeated by George Carpeni (6-2, 7-6(4)).

No. 5 Manghan replied with a win through a match tiebreaker, 4-6, 7-6(3), (10-5), but it was too little, too late for an outclassed Harvard.

“We fought hard, they played better,” Clayton said. “It could hardly be more simple.”

—Staff writer Allen J. Padua can be reached at ajpadua@fas.harvard.edu.