Finally, there was rest for the weary.

Not that the No. 12 Harvard men’s tennis team is necessarily tired, but with a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in the finals of last weekend’s Blue Gray Invitational, the current pain of midterms and an all-important trip to California looming on the spring break horizon, the Crimson (9-3) is certainly busy.

And so this weekend’s March Men’s Open proved a welcome respite, a time for the less experienced players to gain valuable match time and for the battle-tested to relax.

“Between midterms and the travel we’ve been doing and with us getting ready on spring break,” said volunteer assistant coach Phil Parrish, “we just felt like we didn’t want [the kids in the lineup] to play too much. A lot of them have played a lot.”

“But we threw this tournament in here because we wanted to get the non-travel guys some matches,” Parrish said.

And they did. Harvard had five players entered in the singles draw, and sophomore Brandon Chiu—who mans the Crimson’s second doubles pair with senior Mark Riddell—was the only traveling player among them.

All five advanced to the second round, but freshman Max Tedaldi—whose twin brother, Luke, plays for Brown and also competed in the tournament—fell 3-6, 2-6 in the Round of 16 to Kris Goddard. That round also saw the defeat of sophomore Caleb Gardner to Alberto Brause.

Brause, who enjoyed moderate success in the February Open as well, went on to defeat freshman Scott Denenberg 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-2 in the next round. He ultimately lost to Chiu in the semifinals, though he managed to take the first set.

“It was just a little fatigue from yesterday,” Chiu said of his slow start. “I had a long match [last night].

“I haven’t been used to playing so many matches, especially singles, but I just wanted to fight hard,” he said. “I know that in the future, I’ll be in those positions, and I’ll eventually get into the singles lineup.”

Freshman Shantanu Dhaka also advanced to the penultimate round, and the scene appeared set for a repeat of last month’s Open.

That tournament could have easily been deemed “The Crimson Championships,” as Harvard swept both the doubles and singles competitions.

However, Dhaka fell to Brown’s Goddard, and the Bear went on to meet Chiu in the finals.

During their match, Chiu took an awkward lunge for a ball, but he continued after a very deliberate tying of both shoes. After dropping the first set in a tiebreak, though, the sophomore was forced to retire with a sprained ankle, giving Goddard the championship.

Parrish called the move “precautionary,” adding that with the Crimson’s pivotal trip to California fast approaching, Chiu wanted to be careful.