CHAPEL HILL, NC – In the first round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, No. 13 Harvard Men's Tennis met up with conference foe, No. 21 Columbia.  The Crimson powered to the win, 4-2, by grabbing four of the first five singles matches.
 
To begin the day, the Crimson and Lions traded doubles wins.  Columbia first grabbed the win at the No. 1 position before the Crimson tied things up with a win from Steven Sun and Ronan Jachuck at the No. 3 position.  Harris Walker and Henry von der Schulenburg ultimately dropped the match to their opponents in an electrifying tiebreaker.
 
Moving into singles, the Crimson would be facing ranked opponents at the first four positions on the ladder, ultimately taking down three of them.  The Crimson came out strong in the singles with Steven Sun and Alan Yim grabbing wins at the No. 5 and 6 positions, both in straight sets.
 
Henry von der Schulenburg continued his strong start to the season by taking down No. 11 nationally ranked Michael Zheng (Columbia) to grab the third win for the Crimson.  To clinch the win for the Crimson, Harry Walker faced No. 49 Alex Kotzen in a rematch of the ITA Super Regionals semifinals.  Despite dropping the first game, Walker powered back and took the second two sets 6-3, 6-4. 

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A massive win over No. 21 Columbia lifts us to 3-0 on the year with all our wins coming against ranked opponents!#GoCrimson | #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/fMRfK7BWt9

— Harvard Men's Tennis (@HarvardMTennis) January 29, 2023

Andrew Rueb '95, The Scott Mead '77 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Tennis, The James Herscot '58 Coach of Excellence, on the hard fought win said, "This was a three and a half hour battle.  The tennis was at an extremely high level and both teams left it all out there.  I was really proud of the teams fight and energy.  We have another tough match tomorrow and look forawrd to the challenge of playing UNC on their home courts."
 
With the win the Crimson will be moving on to the finals of the ITA Kickoff Weekend in hopes of advancing to the ITA Indoor Nationals.  Harvard will face either No. 17 North Carolina or Oklahoma State tomorrow.

Harvard Highlights

• All three of the Crimson wins to open the season have come against opponents ranked in the top-25 of the ITA Division I Collegiate National Rankings
• Steven Sun and Ronan Jachuck grabbed another win in singles, moving to 3-0 to begin the year. 
• Henry von der Schulenburg grabbed his second win over a ranked opponent by downing No. 11 Michael Zheng (Columbia).
• Steven Sun has dominated to begin his senior campaign, having won all three of his matches in straight sets. 
• Harvard grew its lead in the all-time series over Columbia to 69-21, having won the last three matchups. 

Results

Harvard – 4, Columbia – 2
Doubles

1. Max Westphal/Michael Zheng (Columbia) def. Daniel Milavsky/Valdemar Pape, 6-4
2. Roko Horvat/Theo Winegar (Columbia) def. Harris Walker/Henry von der Schulenburg. 7-6 (9)
3. Steven Sun/Ronan Jachuck def. Nicholas Kotzen/Sachin Palta (Columbia), 6-4

 
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
 
Singles

1. No. 22 Henry von der Schulenburg vs. No. 11 Michael Zheng (Columbia), 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
2. No. 46 Harris Walker def. No. 49 Alex Kotzen (Columbia), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
3. Ronan Jachuck vs. No. 33 Roko Horvat (Columbia), (DNF) 7-5, 4-6, 4-4
4. No. 64 Max Westphal (Columbia) def. Daniel Milavsky, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
5. Steven Sun vs. Ishaan Ravichander (Columbia), 6-3, 6-2
6. Alan Yim def. Nicolas Kotzen (Columbia), 6-4, 6-3

 
Order of finish: 6, 5, 1, 4, 2

Next Up

Tomorrow the Crimson will return to action against the winner of the No. 17 North Carolina and Oklahoma State matchup in hopes of earning a spot in the ITA Indoor Nationals.