CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – For the fourth-straight season, the No. 34 Harvard men's tennis team will compete in the NCAA Tournament, taking on No. 28 Northwestern in the first round of the Oklahoma regional. The Crimson and Wildcats will face off Friday at 2 p.m. ET, followed by a matchup between the host and No. 1 overall seed Sooners and Western Athletic Conference champion New Mexico State at 5 p.m. ET.
Series History
Harvard and Northwestern will meet for the 12th time Friday in the first round matchup. The Wildcats hold a slim 6-5 series lead after taking a match earlier this season, 4-3. Prior to this season, Harvard had won two-straight – in 2013 and 2014. The two teams first met in 1991, a 5-4 Crimson win.
Harvard and Oklahoma have played each other five times, most recently last year in the second round of the NCAA Championships (a 4-0 Oklahoma victory). The Crimson trails the all-time series, 3-2, in a matchup that dates back to 1977. Harvard faced New Mexico State in 1997, besting the Aggies, 4-3.
How Harvard Got Here
While Ivy League rival Columbia clinched the 2015 Ivy title, the Crimson finished tied for second in the league standings and did more than enough in its nonconference schedule to warrant an at-large selection to the postseason. Harvard finished with a 19-7 overall record and a 5-2 league mark. The Crimson also won the ECAC Championship title in February and was 13-2 at home.
The Road to Norman
The road to Waco won't be easy, as there is a talented quartet of teams competing in Oklahoma this weekend.
Harvard's first-round opponent, the Northwestern Wildcats, earned an at-large bid after a strong season in the difficult Big Ten Conference. With an overall record of 20-9, Northwestern went 8-3 in league play, but fell to then-No. 4 Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament. Earlier this season, the Crimson and 'Cats squared off in Evanston, with then-No. 26 Northwestern having to battle back to edge Harvard, 4-3.
Oklahoma, the No. 1-ranked team and No. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history, sits at 23-2 after winning the Big 12 Championships with back-to-back 4-3 wins over Texas and Baylor. This marked the fourth-straight year that the Sooners have captured at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title. OU started the season at No. 2 and has remained at No. 1 since mid-February.
New Mexico State comes in at 11-13, but won the Western Athletic Conference to claim a spot in the NCAA Championships. NM State has not been to the NCAA Championships since the 2000 season, where the Aggies were eliminated by Notre Dame, 4-0.
Harvard in the Ship
Harvard's 2015 tournament invitation marks the 24th time Harvard will play in the NCAA tournament with its first appearance coming in 1981. The furthest the Crimson has advanced in the tournament was 1997, when Harvard earned a berth in the quarterfinal round against No. 3 Stanford. The Cardinal downed Harvard, 4-0, during the match. The Crimson has accrued a 16-23 record all-time in NCAA tournament action, advancing to the second round in each of the last three seasons.
In its past three trips to the tournament, Harvard has knocked off a ranked opponent in the first round and has had a chance to face the regional host. 2012 saw the Crimson down No. 45 Virginia Tech, 4-2, in the first round before bowing out to host No. 12 Florida, 4-0. In 2013, the Crimson breezed past No. 63 Samford, 4-0, and took the doubles point from a talented Mississippi squad before surrendering four singles matches in a 4-1 defeat. Last year, Harvard took down No. 42 Auburn, 4-1, before bowing out to No. 2 Oklahoma, 4-0.
Nguyen, Nguyen, Nguyen
At the No. 1 position this year, No. 37 Denis Nguyen holds a 17-13 overall record, including a 11-9 mark in dual matches. Teaming up with sophomore Brian Yeung, the pair has earned 19 wins this year, holding a 12-6 mark in dual action.
Yeung Money
Sophomore Brian Yeung owns a 19-7 overall record, including a 15-6 mark since starting dual matches. The Hong Kong product boasts perfect marks at the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6 positions and has won seven of the last 10 matches.
Tao on Fire
The lone Crimson student-athlete to record a perfect mark in Ivy League action, freshman Kenny Tao holds a 13-4 dual match record, including six wins in conference play. Tao has won seven-straight and is 8-2 over his last 10 outings.
In the Rankings
Harvard sits at No. 34 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Poll this week after rising as high as No. 18 March 3, its highest ranking since 2013 (18). The Crimson is one of five Ivy League teams ranked. Individually, senior Denis Nguyen ranks No. 34 in singles play. Nguyen and sophomore Brian Yeung sit No. 26 in doubles action.
Team
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Jan. 6
|
29
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Jan. 20
|
30
|
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Jan. 28
|
32
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Feb. 3
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30
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Feb. 17
|
25
|
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Feb. 24
|
22
|
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March 3
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18
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March 10
|
21
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March 17
|
22
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March 24
|
33
|
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March 31
|
36
|
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April 7
|
35
|
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April 14
|
34
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April 21
|
34
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May 1
|
34
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Home Cookin'
Harvard wrapped the season at 12-2 record at home, beating opponents by a combined score of 73-26. The Crimson's two losses came at the hands of No. 23 Vanderbilt and No. 28 Columbia.
Fall Ball
Denis Nguyen and Brian Yeung wrapped the fall season with a spot at the 2014 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships after winning the doubles event at the ITA Regional Championships. In the semifinals of the regionals, Nguyen and Yeung bested Cornell's Vrabel and Casares to square off against Dartmouth's Sakinis and Kipuoras. The duo turned away the Big Red pair for the USTA/ITA regional championship title.
#Winning
The Crimson finished the fall season with an 81-39 (.675) record in tournament play. Sebastian Beltrame and Andrew Ball both registered a 10-3, while three Crimson student-athletes picked up wins over ranked opponents (Beltrame, Denis Nguyen and Alex Steinroeder).
Last Year
The Crimson is coming off an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as Denis Nguyen became Harvard's first All-American since 2005 with a semifinals appearance in the men's singles draw.
On the Sidelines
David Fish, the Scott Mead '77 Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Tennis, is in his 39th season with the Crimson after coaching the men's tennis team to an 18-7 record last season and leading the Crimson to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third-straight season. Fish was named the winner of the 2014 ITA Meritorious Service Award in December.
