Dartmouth has slipped after finishing third in the Ancient Eight in the past two seasons, and has only a 4-2 win over the Lions in early April to show for its conference season. It has lost its last four matches.

The Big Green’s Xander Centenari and Brandon DeBot have had a successful season in doubles, going 9-5 overall in dual play. But they will have to take on Harvard’s dominant first doubles team of junior co-captain Casey MacMaster and Denis Nguyen, who are ranked 52nd in the nation and are 11-1 on the season.

Consistency has been an issue for Dartmouth, but the lack of a regular lineup has paid off in some respects. 10 different combinations at No. 3 doubles have produced an overall 9-5 record, and six different players have combined to go 13-1 in sixth singles this season.

But the team has struggled at the top. Centenari is just 3-8 in No. 1 singles, and two teams have combined for a 5-8 record in first doubles.

Brown and Dartmouth represent the final two obstacles for the Crimson in completing an unblemished conference season and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which starts May 10.

“We know we have a couple matches to go,” Hu said. “Our mindset is to focus not just on the Ivy League, but also on NCAAs and improving our individual games in preparation. So we’re going to go at these last few matches just as hard.”

—Staff writer Justin C. Wong can be reached at justinwong@college.harvard.