RALEIGH, NC – No. 16 Harvard Men's Tennis (1-0, 0-0 Ivy) began their 2023 spring campaign tonight by narrowly grabbing a 4-3 win over No. 21 NC State (2-2, 0-0 ACC).  Senior Steven Sun grabbed the fourth and final win for the Crimson at the No. 5 position by defeating Luca Staeheli (NC State) in straight sets, 7-6, 7-6.  

How It Happened

The Crimson began the night with their No. 2 and 3 doubles grabbing 6-4 and 6-3 wins, respectively to secure the doubles point. 

Moving into singles, junior co-captain Henry von der Schulenburg quickly grabbed point number two for Harvard by defeating Martins Rocens (NC State) with a pair of 6-2 decisions.  Harris Walker began his spring season grabbing the second singles win for the Crimson at the No. 1 position.  The No. 46 ranked Walker took down his first ranked opponent of the season, defeating No. 122 Rafa Izquierdo Luque in straight sets (6-4, 7-6). 

The Wolfpack hung around, grabbing wins at the No. 4 and 3 positions prior to Walker's win.  Soon after, a win at the No. 6 position brought NC State and Harvard to a draw with only Sun and Staeheli (NC State) still in play.  Staeheli (NC State) did not fall to Sun without a fight, taking both sets to tie breakers, but ultimately Sun grabbed a pair of 7-6 set victories to secure the win for Harvard. 

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Senior Steven Sun grabbed the final win for the Crimson last night to secure our 4-3 win over No. 21 NC State!#GoCrimson | #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/IzaYp8GxDL

— Harvard Men's Tennis (@HarvardMTennis) January 21, 2023

Harvard Highlights

• The Crimson secured two wins over ranked opponents on the night with Walker defeating No. 122 nationally ranked Rafa Izquierdo Luque (NC State) and the unranked duo of Walker/von der Schulenburg downing No. 38 nationally ranked Martins Rocens/Fons Van Sambeek (NC State). 
• Walker, von der Schulenburg, and Sun grabbed singles wins for the Crimson, all taking down their opponents in straight sets. 
• Harvard secured their doubles win with victories from Walker/von der Schulenburg and Ronan Jachuck/Steven Sun.  The duo of Jachuck/Sun defeated their opponents, 6-3 to grab the first victory of the season for the Crimson.
• Tonight, Harvard extended its lead in the all-time series over NC State with the Crimson having won the only two matchups ever between the two squads. 

Results

Harvard – 4, NC State – 3
Doubles

1. Valdemar Pape/Daniel Milavsky vs. Robin Catry/Luca Staeheli (NC State), 4-5 (DNF)
2. Harris Walker/Henry von der Schulenburg def. No. 38 Martins Rocens/ Fons Van Sambeek (NC State), 6-4
3. Ronan Jachuck/Steven Sun def. Martin Borisiouk/Joseph Wayand (NC State), 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 2

Singles

1. No. 46 Harris Walker def. No. 122 Rafa Izquierdo Luque (NC State), 6-4, 7-6
2. No. 22 Henry von der Schulenburg def. Martins Rocens (NC State), 6-2, 6-2
3. Robin Catry (NC State) def. Ronan Jachuck, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Braden Shick (NC State) def. Daniel Milavsky, 6-4, 6-3
5. Steven Sun def. Luca Staeheli (NC State), 7-6, 7-6
6. Fons Van Sambeek (NC State) def. Valdemar Pape, 7-6, 6-4

Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 1, 6, 5

Next Up

Harvard will close off its weekend in North Carolina on Sunday January 22 as they head to Durham, NC to take on No. 20 Duke at 1:00 p.m. from Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center.  The Blue Devils have started the season 2-0, including a win tonight against Memphis.