COLUMBIA 5, HARVARD 2

Both teams went into the league opener with high expectations, but the Lions succeeded in avenging their February loss to Harvard.

“A team with really strong players like that just uses that [loss] as a target,” Fish said. “They were completely ready yesterday for a great match.”

With the sting of defeat as an extra incentive, Columbia came out strong to get the early lead in the doubles contest by winning the No. 2 match, but the Crimson’s Chijoff-Evans and Tchan responded by evening the tally with an 8-4 win at No. 3.

The Lions secured the doubles point when seniors Jonathan Wong and Mihai Nichifor defeated Omodele-Lucien and Schultz, 8-6, on the first court.

“The doubles point was very close,” Fish said. “Their No. 1 team got a little bit of edge.”

Columbia took the momentum it gained from doubles and never looked back.

“Once they felt they had an edge, they...poured it on,” Fish said. “Our guys were trying as hard as they could, but there wasn’t much they could do to stop it.”

An injury to Nguyen added to the challenge, as several players had to move up in the lineup.

Schultz earned Harvard’s first victory by defeating sophomore Rajeev Deb-Sen in straight sets at No. 5 singles. Tchan added to the scoreboard for the Crimson when he overcame freshman Cyril Bucher in a third-set supertiebreaker, 7-5, 0-6, 10-3, at No. 4.

But Chijoff-Evans fell to Wong at No. 1, 6-4, 2-6, 12-10, and his teammates Omodele-Lucien, Felton, and Hayes each lost in straight sets to give Columbia the victory.

“Columbia is a terrific team, so I give them credit,” Fish said. “It was just a disappointing loss.”