HARVARD 6, OLD DOMINION 1
The Crimson finished Saturday’s double-header just as it had begun, grabbing the doubles point with victories in all three doubles matches.
Although the doubles teams were a bit different from usual, they played with the usual intensity.
Beren and Chiu—who had also played their first match together just that morning—defeated Eidy Igarashi and Rodrigo Souza, 8-5. After Harvard’s duo jumped out to a 6-1 lead, Igarashi and Souza climbed back to within two games, to bring the score to 7-5. Beren and Chiu grabbed the next and final game, however, to seize the win.
“Today was the first time I had played doubles with Jason,” Chiu said, adding, “We complimented each other well.”
Chu and Kumar, currently ranked No. 26 in the nation, secured an 8-6 victory in a tight, back-and-forth contest against No. 24 Izak van der Merwe and Nate Grover.
At third doubles, Bohnen and Valkin defeated Henrique Cancado and Juliano Cirimbell, completing the doubles sweep. After securing the first point in just under an hour, the Crimson rode this momentum into the singles matches.
Valkin, playing his fourth match of the day, showed no signs of fatigue as he quickly dispatched Monarch foe Juliano Crimbelli, 6-3, 6-1, at sixth singles.
“I’ve been sitting out for three weeks, and today I was given a chance,” said Valkin, who stepped into the singles and doubles lineups admirably. “I played well and stayed aggressive. I played my own game.”
Chiu followed with a victory of his own at fifth singles, beating Adriano Mello, 7-5, 6-4.
In an exciting match at second singles, Kumar won a three-set battle over Henrique Cancado, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. After dropping the first set, Kumar nailed two aces in the first game of the second set and never looked back in a match was permeated by grunts and yells from both sides.
Nguyen dug deep, defeating Eidy Igarashi at fourth singles. Nguygen gave his all in grabbing the first set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (3), and he then took the second set, 6-3.
Chu, again playing in the top singles spot, dropped the only match for the Crimson, losing a marathon contest to No. 21 Izak van der Merwe.
Although both of the day’s opponents were ranked lower than was Harvard, the Crimson players recognized the importance of these victories.
“Any time we play, we want to win,” Beren said. “In these matches, our mindset was the same. We knew that the other teams would want to win, and that they would come out hitting and energized.”
Harvard hopes to build on Saturday’s victories as its prepares for the Blue/Gray Invitational in Montgomery, Alabama, which takes place March 10-12.