Li’s strong showing was one of many put forth by the Crimson this weekend. Harvard won six of its first-round matches, three in the round of 16, two in the quarterfinals, both of the semifinals, and, of course, the finals.

In the doubles draw, Harvard entered three pairs. The sophomore-freshman duo of Caleb Gardener and Scott Denenberg won its first match but then lost to Drake and his doubles partner in the second round. Another Crimson pairing, that of freshmen Shantanu Dhaka and Gideon Valkin, lost 4-6, 4-6 in the first round.

It was the “Chu-Chiu” train which won the doubles title, despite the fact the Chu normally plays with captain David Lingman and Chiu with senior Mark Riddell. The match took three hours, but the Harvard tandem came out on top in three long sets.

With such a depth of talent in both draws, it seemed almost inevitable that the tournament would have its share of Crimson-Crimson singles matches, and, in fact, there were three.

Chiou had the distinction of playing in all of them, each time competing against a freshman teammate. He defeated Valkin 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1) in the Round of 16 and Denenberg 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals before losing to Li.

It was Chiou’s semifinal match against top-seeded Trevor Spracklin, who has tasted moderate success on the pro-circuit, in which he proved his mettle.

Chiou displayed excellent movement as he tracked down every angle and denied many would-be winners. He put the ball back in play over and over again, and it was ultimately Spracklin who lost his cool, dropped his racket, screamed in frustration and crumbled.

Unlike Spracklin, Chiou’s Harvard opponents seemed to enjoy the matches. The players called encouragement and praise back and forth during the matches, complimenting winners and clapping their hands against their rackets in approval.

Often, the two Harvard players would pause mid-game and watch a teammate’s point several courts down, calling out words of support.

The teammate-versus-teammate occurrences were enjoyable for the coaches as well. The cheer “C’mon, Harvard,” took on a new meaning.

The squad kept the energy flowing in a constant stream, no matter who was up and who was down.

“That’s been the whole point,” Fish said of his team’s camaraderie. “If you can’t appreciate excellence, you’re missing something.”

Chiou agreed, adding, “that’s been a theme for our team, this energy and support.”