Harvard men’s tennis team will commence its Ivy League title defense this weekend when it hosts the Harvard Chowder Fest at the Beren Center.

The Crimson will hit the ground running, taking on top teams UC Berkeley, Tulsa, and San Diego as it begins the quest for its third consecutive Ancient Eight crown.

“We’ve invited three of the best teams in the country this year,” head coach Dave Fish said. “It’s a great test for our guys to see some of the best caliber players in the country and see how we stack up.”

Last season, Harvard had a banner year, posting a 6-1 record in Ivy play for the second straight year en route to the title. The sole blemish on The Crimson’s conference record was a late-season home loss to Brown.

Harvard, which at one point last year was ranked as highly as No. 17 in the nation, also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament for the second straight year. The Crimson fell to tenth-ranked Mississippi State, 4-1, on their home court in the Round of 32 after trouncing Samford, 4-0, in the opening round.

This season, Harvard will have to fight to reclaim its Ancient Eight crown as it replaces graduated co-captain Andy Nguyen, w a vital part of the Crimson’s singles and doubles lineups.

Junior Christo Schultz returns to the team this season after taking last year off. Harvard will also work three new freshmen into the lineup this season: Andrew Ball, from Palo Alto, Calif., Sebastian Beltrame, from Windermere, Fla., and Brian Yeung, from Hong Kong.

“Andy is a big loss, but our three freshmen are very strong,” said Fish. “All three of them are terrific, and I’m sure they’ll be great players for us. We can feel their intensity right away, and they’ll be competing for spots.”

The Crimson will start its season against some stiff competition. The Golden Bears finished last season ranked 17th in the country and advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. Cal also features two players, seniors Ben McLachlan and Campbell Johnson, who earned preseason top-50 rankings.

The No. 25 Golden Hurricane, who fell to Baylor in the Round of 32 of NCAAs, boast two players in the top-30 in the singles rankings, including No. 12 Japie De Klerk.

Meanwhile, the Toreros finished the season ranked 40th, and also reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to No. 4 USC.

Harvard will look to build on its success from last year, and will lean on its strong core of young players. The team graduated just one senior and has only one this season, co-captain Casey MacMaster.

MacMaster will team with junior Denis Nguyen in first doubles. The duo posted a 12-2 record in dual play last season, and opens this year ranked 20th in ITA preseason polls.

Doubles was a particularly strong suit for the Crimson last year, as the team captured the doubles point in 19 of its 25 matches, including a stretch of 12 straight. The second team was broken up due to Andy Nguyen’s departure, but junior Alex Steinroeder and sophomore Kelvin Lam were effective on the third court last year, notching an 8-2 record in dual play.

But Harvard’s success was not limited to doubles. Denis Nguyen, who solidified the top singles slot, and junior Shaun Chaudhuri, who went 11-5 in dual play on the second court, gave the Crimson some sorely needed punch at the top of the lineup.

Harvard will continue to use the fall as a tune-up for the Ivy season, and has a full slate of matches to build team chemistry and gain the experience necessary to match and build on last year’s success.

“The fall season is a time for individual development and coming together as a team,” Chaudhuri said. “We welcome our new players and see how they adjust, and try out new doubles pairings, and try to get better each match.”

After the Chowder Fest, the Crimson will hit the road for a series of tournaments, including the Ivy Tournament in New Haven, a trip to Texas A&M, and the ITA Northeast Regionals in late October before the Halloween Invite in Cambridge in early November.

“The guys are really motivated and are working hard,” Fish said. “If they keep doing battle, we’ll have a stronger lineup than last year. It’s a good group of guys, so we’re optimistic.”

—Staff writer Justin Wong can be reached at justin.wong@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinCWong94.