At first singles, Hu managed to take the opening set from Ismailov, 6-2. In the second set, Ismailov rallied to earn a close victory and tie the match, 6-4.
The matchup between Cowboys sophomore Tristan Meraut and Harvard freshman Andy Zhou was possibly the most closely-contested of the day. The two battled to a 6-6 tie in the first set, and Meraut went on to win the tiebreaker and the set.
In doubles action, Crimson seniors Conor Haughey and Kelvin Lam were winning the first set, 6-5, against Oklahoma State sophomore Lukas Finzelberg and junior Jurence Mendoza, but the set went unfinished.
Although the results on paper were disappointing for Harvard, the team came away from the matches with some positives.
“I think on the positive side we found a lot of things we need to work on, and that’s always good to have and good to keep in the back of your mind because we’re looking to be the best team we can be at the end of the season,” Hu said.
–Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jackstockless@college.harvard.edu.