In the first completed matches of the day, Chadhuri and Denis Nguyen put the Crimson in great position by dominating their matches, 6-2, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-2, respectively.
But the Aztecs came surging back to level the score 2-2. Harvard No. 3 Schultz lost his first match of the season to Thorston Bertsch, 6-4, 7-5. Following shortly after, No. 5 Steinroder fell to Hunter Nichols 6-2, 6-2.
Though there seemed to be a change in momentum in San Diego State’s favor, No. 6 Steer defeated Baylon rather easily, by a score of 6-1, 6-2, giving the Crimson the advantage. But after a very tightly contested match, the Aztecs’ Javier Pulgo beat No. 1 Pearlman 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (3), to force doubles play.
Fortunately for Harvard, the No. 1 tandem of sophomore Casey MacMaster and Felton won the first doubles match, 8-4, over Pulgar and Nichols.
But San Diego State didn’t count itself out yet. Harvard’s No. 2 team of junior Andy Nguyen and freshman Denis Nguyen faltered in a close match against Bertesch and Derek Siddiqui, 9-8 (7).
Completely tied up, Schultz and Pearlman took the court. The duo sealed the deal for the Crimson, 9-8 (8), earning Harvard the decisive doubles point and giving it the chance to fight for the championship later that day.
HARVARD 6, UC IRVINE 1
In the first round of the tournament, the Crimson started off with doubles play against the University of California-Irvine.
The No. 1 duo of MacMaster and Felton showed determination by closing out a tight match against Anteater senior Fabian Matthews and freshman Jacob Jung, 9-7.
The No. 2 doubles pair of Schultz and Pearlman notched another victory for Harvard with a fairly easy win, 8-5, over the UC Irvine counterparts, clinching the doubles point for the Crimson.
In singles play, Harvard showed its strength by winning five of the six matches. The only blemish on the Crimson’s record was a tight three-set loss at No. 4 singles. Steinroder dropped his match, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to senior Jon Kazarian.
—Staff writer Saira Khanna can be reached at sairakhanna@college.harvard.edu.