In the Baylor Bears the Crimson faced a much tougher opponent. The Bears finished their regular season with an impressive 22-3 record, finishing second in the Big 12, losing to No.4 Texas in the finals.
The Bears made quick work of the hosts, Indiana State, on the first day of the championships, taking the match 4-1.
The Crimson began the morning with confidence, looking to dominate doubles as it had the day before. In the beginning, it looked as though the Crimson might get the first point of its upset.
At No. 2, Green and Clark got off to a quick start, going up a break early on in the match. The No.1 team of Blake and Majmudar and the No.3 team of Passarella and Doran were both trading service games.
Scoring first for Harvard, Green and Clark closed out their match and pulled up a couple of chairs to watch the remaining sets. Alas, their work was in vain.
Blake and Majumdar fell apart and dropped their match 8-3. And although they extended their match to 6-7, Passarella and Doran could not hold out and lost 8-6, as well.
Not used to going a point down before singles play, Harvard had to settle down and capture four of six singles matches to get the tickets to Georgia.
Blake started the play off with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Johann Jooste, the No.16 player in the country. Meanwhile, in what was his last match in a long Harvard career, Passarella dropped a hard-fought match 6-4, 6-2.
With the score now 2-1 in favor of the Bears, things looked dim for the Crimson. At No.5, Clark had won his first set but was down in the second. No.2 Doran, No.3 Majmudar and No.4 Green had all lost their first sets and now needed to win two straight to get the point.
With a persistence that has characterized its whole season, Harvard did not roll over. Doran kicked it into gear, winning the second and going up a break at the beginning of the third. And although he lost the second, Clark also went up in his third set.
It was the Bears' day, however, as they dominated the middle of the line up and got the win. Despite his strong first set play, Green lost 7-6, 6-0. Majmudar was simply overpowered, losing 6-2, 6-2. With the winner decided, the remaining matches were cancelled.
Baylor now moves on to face No. 2 seed Stanford (20-2) in the Round of 16.
Harvard had reached the Round of 16 in each of the last three years, including a near upset of the third seed Georgia Bull-dogs in last year's quarterfinals.
Although the team will not travel to the Peach State this weekend, Blake and Majmudar will represent the team in the individual tournament. The two will team up for doubles, and both of them will play for the singles title. Blake is the man to beat, and received the first seed. Majmudar, who went up and down the singles ranking all season, is seeded No. 48.
The NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournament begins on May 26 in Atlanta, Geo.