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Harvard men’s tennis opened its 2024-2025 season with a strong fall swing, playing in six tournaments over the past two months and capitalizing on the chance to evaluate its new roster additions before the calendar turns to the spring.

The fall season offered the Crimson an opportunity to learn how to work well with one another, develop its leadership, and become prepared for the intense sprint that is collegiate spring tennis.

Coming off a spring season in which it earned its second consecutive Sweet 16 berth at the NCAA Tournament, the program entered this new campaign facing significant headwinds. In addition to losing team stalwarts Ronan Jachuck, Alan Yim, and Henry von der Schulenberg to graduation, the transfer of Cooper Williams — a blue-chip recruit who won 17 matches in his first year with the Crimson — to the Duke Blue Devils left a significant hole in the team’s NCAA title dreams.

However, hope springs eternal, especially with the arrival of freshman recruits Benjamin Privara, Mitchell Lee, and Johnson. Lee was ranked as a top-10 prospect in the country coming out of Tilden Preparatory School in Oakland, Calif., by the Tennis Recruiting Network last year — fueling hopes that his addition along with Privara and Johnson would help ameliorate the sting of losing Williams.

The squad stepped onto the courts for their first game in late September at the Chowderfest tournament. This rather late debut to the fall season meant that the Crimson had plenty of time to become reaccustomed to practicing with one another prior to the tournament’s start.

This familiarity and comfort was evident in a strong performance at the Chowderfest tournament. Up against strong NCAA teams including rival Yale, the Crimson endured dominant performances, close calls, and blowouts alike.

An especially notable result came from junior Masato Perera and Privara. Ranked at No. 84 nationally going into the tournament, Perera and Privara took down the Cornell pair of Rushil Khoshla and Eric Verdes 7-6 (3), in their first match together.

Privara came to the team this year from Borova, Slovakia as another key recruit, after establishing himself on the European Junior Tour as a rising talent to watch. In 2019, in the 16 and under category, Privara won Tennis Europe’s Player of the Year award, a designation formerly given to future ATP legends Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.

The Chowderfest tournament, like many of Havard tennis’ matches this past fall season, was a tournament that prioritized skill development over pure team success. Thus, sophomore James MacDonald had the non-traditional opportunity to play in a doubles match alongside a Cornell player.

The more relaxed environment meant that the new additions to the team — Privara, Lee, and Johnson — were able to showcase their talents from the very start of the season. The Harvard tennis rookies were provided opportunities to adjust to a new level of play and discover their strengths.

“College tennis was a huge adjustment with the format and change of playing for a team rather than just myself,” Lee said after the tournament.

Despite the transition, the freshmen play showed few signs of this challenge, and their ability to adjust to a new environment was partially due to the strong leadership and community that exists throughout the team.

“This fall, I have genuinely felt what it means to be part of a fantastic team and institution. They have welcomed me onto the team with open arms, and I am very grateful for all they have done for me thus far in my collegiate career,” Lee added.

After participating in the Chowderfest tournament, Lee suffered a knee injury that kept him out from subsequent tournament play. Nevertheless, Lee’s situation illustrates that even throughout injuries or other challenges, the coaching staff are ready and eager to provide whatever support is needed.

“The team, and especially the coaching staff — Andrew Rueb, Sanam Singh, Theo Rich, and Juan Calero Alonso — have all been super supportive through my time off, putting me in contact with doctors, physical trainers, and other resources to help me to get back on the court,” Lee said.

More importantly, Lee’s determination to return healthy and strong for the spring season shows that while the fall has been important for development, the team’s main priority is the spring season.

“I have a plan to be ready for the spring season, which matters most to the team and me,” Lee said.

The competitive tenor rose, and the Crimson struggled, during the ITA Division I Sectional Championships during the first weekend of this month. Sophomore Rohan Murali and Privara went into the tournament with hopes of advancing on to the NCAA Division I Championships. The pair were competing together in the doubles Round of 16 as well as separately in the singles Round of 32.

Unfortunately, in singles play, Murali and Privara fell to Braden Shick from North Carolina State and Luca Pow from Wake Forest, respectively. Both players put up a tough fight, losing their first sets in breakers and continuing on to lose the second match as well. Murali ended up losing 7-6 (2), 6-2, and Privara lost 7-6 (1), 6-3.

In doubles play, the duo also fell to Patrick Shoen and Logan Zapp from the University of North Carolina 6-4, 6-0. Although this was a disappointing result for Harvard tennis, the squad’s hopes remained high going into the last tournament of the fall season: The Battle of Boston.

The Crimson regained confidence at the tournament, going up against strong rival opponents including Cornell, Boston University, and Boston College. Hosted by Harvard on its own Murr Tennis Courts, the Crimson posted a near-perfect performance the weekend of the Battle of Boston, with nine total victories across singles and doubles action.

As a fitting way to end the tournament, Johnson — a native New Yorker who played high school tennis for Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts — recorded his first singles victory for Harvard, defeating Jaydon Barki from BU in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.

The Crimson’s performances throughout the fall season show that it is poised to have a competitive spring season. It will bank on continued development from newcomers Lee and Privara, combined with strong play from its savvy upperclassmen, like Perera and senior Daniel Milavsky, in order to make another NCAA run.

“I can’t wait to see what the spring semester holds for our team and the great memories we will make together,” Lee said.

—Staff writer Lauren Choy can be reached at lauren.choy@thecrimson.com.