Perhaps a well-deserved break was all that was needed for the Harvard men’s tennis team. Following a grueling start to the spring season, the Crimson (4-3) rolled through three tough opponents en route to an undefeated weekend.

Merely a week removed from a narrow loss to the No. 19 Clemson Tigers, Harvard geared up for a showdown against Purdue (2-3). Powered by the familiarity of playing home for the first time, the Crimson clinched the doubles point from solid performances by the pairs of freshman Kolos Kincses and junior Rohan Murali, as well as junior James MacDonald and senior Masato Perera. The tandems had convincing victories of 6-3 and 6-2, respectively, to snag the first team point of the match.

This momentum would eventually prove huge for Harvard, as the team stormed ahead to win three consecutive singles matches to secure the victory. Freshman phenom Nathan Blokhin continued his hot streak on court three, dismantling Purdue’s Stefan Simeunovic in convincing 6-3, 6-2 fashion.

Murali claimed the straight-set win on court two soon after, and senior Marc Ktiri brought home the match for the Crimson with a win on court six. Harvard was able to claim the 4-3 win over the Boilermakers.

Following the win, Harvard geared up for a doubleheader against Big 10 foe Michigan (1-3) and Merrimack College (1-3).

For the match against Michigan, despite a tight loss by the doubles partners Blokhin and sophomore Benjamin Privara, the Kincses and Murali and the MacDonald and Perera duos battled ferociously. On court three, MacDonald and Perera won a gutsy 7-6 (5) tiebreaker to clinch the doubles point.

During singles play, Ktiri won on court six in straight sets, and No. 109 Privara went toe-to-toe with the seventh-ranked ITA player in the nation, Max Dahlin, though he eventually lost 4-6, 6-7. Following another clutch three-set win from Blokhin, it was the sophomore Mitchell Lee on court five who clinched in a tense, three-set match to give Harvard the 4-3 win over the Wolverines.

Just hours later, the Crimson faced off against Merrimack. With players like Blokhin and Privara getting a well-deserved rest, Harvard’s Head Coach, Andrew Rueb ‘95, redid the entire lineup. After a quick 2-0 sweep for the doubles point, the Crimson cleanly swept through the singles lineup of the Warriors, despite an early injury exit from freshman Noah Gilligan. A comfortable 5-1 win for Harvard capped off a strong week for the team.

The Crimson’s doubles play has certainly stepped up since its limited success in Harvard’s first four competitions. So far this season, the doubles point has proven to be a benchmark in whether the team can roll through its singles matches, and it has not been proven wrong yet. With doubles point wins over Purdue, Michigan, and Merrimack, Harvard is currently undefeated when securing the doubles point.

The Crimson continues its home slate this upcoming Friday. Following a dual against Buffalo at 5:00 p.m., Harvard has another doubleheader on Sunday, starting with a match against No. 11 NC State at noon before facing its crosstown rival, Boston University, at 5:00 p.m.


—Staff writer Alex S. Kim can be reached at [email protected].