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Men's Tennis Sweeps Penn and Princeton

Finding confidence at home, the No. 50 Harvard men’s tennis team (13-10, 2-2) triumphantly ended the weekend with two Ivy League victories.The Crimson bested Penn 6-1 (7-13, 2-2) on Saturday and overcame No.37 Princeton (14-8, 2-2) on Sunday for a close 4-3 win.

“Everyone watching provided fantastic energy and a lot of support,” freshman Andy Zhou said. “Due to this, the team was riding the confidence waves.”

PRINCETON 4, HARVARD 3

The Tigers proved to be the bigger challenge on the weekend, as Harvard barely upset Princeton 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Murr Center.

The Tigers entered the weekend with an undefeated record in the Ivy League, earning a pair of 4-1 wins against both Brown and Yale. Additionally, sophomore Luke Gamble entered the match at the No.5 spot having triumphed in his last 10 decisions.

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The Crimson, however, came into Sunday’s matchup with a 52-45 all-time series lead over Princeton, using its 4-3 victory against the Tigers last season as a foundation for confidence.

" Although we weren't able to get the doubles point today which was too bad, we were able to bounce back with strength in singles," co-captain Nicky Hu said. "Sebastian beat a great player at No. 2 and he really clinched for us today in front of his family."

Handling the pressure with grace, Beltrame closed the match for Harvard in a 6-4 third set victory from the No. 2 spot. Beltrame began the game with a first set win of 6-3, but was faced with a challenging battle as Princeton junior Tom Colautti gained the advantage in the second set 7-6 (5). Beltrame’s tiebreaker triumph gave Crimson the edge over the Tigers after a squared score of 3-3.

Starting at a 2-1 loss in the doubles point, the Crimson fought back to win four of six singles matches to gain the upper hand.

Hu fought back from a 6-3 loss in the first set to win the last two 6-3, 6-4. Zhou and freshman Christopher Morrow also took home straight set wins, as Zhou ended Gamble’s win streak with a 6-4, 6-4 victory and Morrow defeated Princeton freshman Jimmy Wasserman, 6-3, 6-0.

"Anytime a team strings together two victories, it is a positive reinforcer," said Hu. "If the team really focuses on one match, one point at a time, we have a real chance to make NCAA."

HARVARD 6, PENN 1

Blazing past Penn 6-1 on Saturday at the Murr Tennis Center, the Crimson started the weekend strong.

Sophomore Kenny Tao seized the match that ensured a Harvard victory at second singles on Saturday against the Quakers. Fighting back after an initial 6-1 loss in the first set against senior Vim de Alwis, Tao captured the following two sets, 6-3, 6-4.

Zhou rallied back from a first-set loss as well at fourth singles, taking the next two sets in order to defeat Penn junior Matt Nardella.

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