Crimson Defeats Ball State But Drops Game to Louisville

It’s been a seesaw season for the Harvard men’s tennis team and this weekend proved to be no different.

The Crimson went on its first road trip of the spring season this weekend and added a tally in both the win and loss columns against its two opponents. Harvard (6-6) secured a 5-2 win over Ball State (8-4) on Saturday, but the team could not carry the momentum over in its match against Louisville (9-6), where the squad fell, 5-2.

“I think the team did well this weekend,” junior Jon Pearlman said. “We came out pretty solid against Ball State and played great in doubles against Louisville…It’s a good sign for the rest of the season.”

LOUISVILLE 5, HARVARD 2

Harvard lost its sixth match of the duals season against Louisville, dropping the squad to .500 for the year. Despite the loss, the team still displayed a level of play that demonstrated it is still improving against the best teams.

The Crimson started out the matchup by losing the doubles point that has proven to be important for the team’s success this season.

Captain Aba Omodele-Lucien and freshman Casey MacMaster dropped the first doubles match, 8-6, but Pearlman and sophomore Josh Tchan battled back for the Crimson to even the score.

Junior Ali Felton and sophomore Andy Nguyen toughed out the longest doubles match of the day, but it wasn’t enough for Harvard. The duo lost, 9-7, forfeiting the first point to the Cardinals.

“I thought we did very well against Louisville,” said Harvard coach Dave Fish ’72. “The last doubles point was actually very close.”

In the singles, the Crimson managed to secure only two wins, but these two players wrapped up their matches in impressive fashion.

MacMaster was the second Harvard player to finish, downing Dante Terenzio, 6-4, 6-2. Even though Pearlman’s score line was similar, he could not take his opponent down as quickly. Pearlman managed to defeat Austen Child, 6-3, 6-2, but was the second to last Crimson player to finish.

HARVARD 5, BALL STATE 2

The Crimson opened up its first matchup on the road with a crushing victory over Ball State.

Harvard continued to dominate in the doubles portion of the event, as the squad has done throughout most of the season, sweeping all three games. MacMaster and Omodele-Lucien soundly defeated their opponents in an 8-1 rout to win the first doubles match.

Felton and Nguyen have been successful as a duo this season and continued that success against Dalton Albertin and Shaun Bussert, 8-3, to clinch the doubles point for the Crimson. Pearlman and Tchan toughed out an 8-6 win to sweep all three doubles matches for Harvard.

The squad only needed three of the singles matches to edge the Cardinals, but four Harvard players managed to pull out victories over their opponents, three of which were straight-set victories.

Pearlman overpowered his opponent, Cliff Morrison, surrendering only one game. Pearlman took the first set, 6-1, and then bageled his opponent in the second to give the Crimson a 2-0 lead against Ball State.

“In the last couple of weeks, I’ve really upped my training regimen, and as a result, I’ve become a lot quicker on the court,” Pearlman said. “I’m making fewer unforced errors and am able to wear my opponents down.”

Felton and Tchan were the other two Harvard players to finish off their opponents in straight sets. Tchan achieved a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Austin Smith, and Felton won in a similar fashion, 6-3, 6-4.

For MacMaster, it was not as simple, but he prevailed in three sets. He won the first set 6-3, but then his opponent evened things up at one set apiece. MacMaster managed to pull out the victory though with a 10-3 in the super tiebreak to decide the third set. With the win, MacMaster improved to 5-1 for the season.

If the Crimson continues to demonstrate this type of play that it showed this weekend, the squad should be able to tip the seesaw it’s been having in its favor.

—Staff writer Steven T. A. Roach can be reached at sroach@fas.harvard.edu.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction.

CORRECTION: MAR. 14, 2011

The Mar. 7 article "Crimson Defeats Ball State But Drops Game to Louisville" identified Aba Omodele-Lucien as the co-captain of the men's tennis team. In, fact he is the sole captain of the team.