The stage couldn’t get any bigger on Sunday, and David Lingman’s performance couldn’t have been any better.

In Harvard’s Murr Center, packed to the gills with a deafening crowd, the No. 21 Crimson men’s tennis team battled No. 19 Tulane for Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA tournament.

A Harvard loss would mark a bitter end to a stellar season, one which included an Ivy title and had seemed, all along, a mere precursor to NCAA tournament success.

The stage was set for Lingman, the Crimson’s co-captain, top singles player and inspirational hub.

And boy, did he deliver.

Though he and classmate Mark Riddell contributed to Harvard’s doubles point victory as the pair streamrolled its way to an 8-1 victory, it was Lingman’s singles match against the Green Wave’s top player, No. 11 Michael Kogan, which made the afternoon truly unforgettable.

Kogan, also a senior, had not lost in his past 12 matches. The 26-year old Israeli native, a two-time All-American in both singles and doubles, had been ranked as high as No. 9 earlier this spring.

But No. 36 Lingman didn’t care. One collegiate career had to end, and it wasn’t going to be his.

“I’d like to play Tulane,” he even said a week prior to the match, well before he knew which team the Crimson would face, “just because their No. 1 guy is really good, and I’d love to play him.”

Wish granted.

There was electricity in the air even as the players warmed up, and to the delight of the fans packed above his court, Lingman closed out the first set 6-2.

With some of his shots bordering on the unbelievable, he returned seemingly irretrievable balls with deadly precision.

“Kogan’s the type of player I like to play,” he explained, pointing to his opponent’s aggressiveness and frequent trips to the net, many of which Lingman ruined with spot-on passing shots.

“I focused on really attacking him because I knew he’d be attacking me, and that’s when I usually play my best tennis.”

And though he fell behind early, Lingman ultimately secured the second set 6-4.