CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's tennis matched its highest all-time team ranking as it landed at No. 7 in the seventh ITA Division I Men's Collegiate Tennis Team Rankings of the 2022-23 season. The Crimson reached No. 7 one time previously in 1990.
"It is certainly an honor to tie the highest ranking in program history with the 1990 team," says
Andrew Rueb '95, The Scott Mead '77 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Tennis, The James Herscot '58 Coach of Excellence. "Especially knowing all the great players and teams in Harvard Men's Tennis history. We are glad to be a part of that conversation."
Finishing at No. 14 and reaching as high as No. 7 in the nation, the 1990 Harvard men's tennis team is one of the best squads ever assembled in Cambridge. Comprised of All-Americans, Albert Chang '92, Mike Zimmerman '92 and Mike Shyjan '92, the 1990 Crimson ranked inside the top-15 five times that season. Led by longtime head coach David Fish and captained by Mark Leschly '90, the team wrapped up the season with an all-time Harvard record of 25 wins, a feat that has only been matched two other times and has never been surpassed.
In alphabetical order: Roger Berry, Derek Brown, John Burke, Jon Cardi, Albert Chang, Mike Daum, Tim Hartch, Brett Knowlton, Ravi Kumar, Peter Lattman, Mark Leschly, Leon Palandjian, Daryle Ruark, Laszlo Sevester, Mike Shyjan, Peter Stovell, John Tolmie, Mike Zimmerman, Head Coach David Fish, Assistant Coach Steve Gerstenfeld
Beginning the year tied at No. 16 in the first poll of the season back in January, the Crimson has climbed the ranks following seven ranked battles in its 6-3 start. To open the 2023 spring season, Harvard hit the road to face six ranked opponents in a row, defeating No. 21 NC State, No. 20 Duke, No. 21 Columbia, and T-No. 23 Northwestern. Recently cracking the top-25 and coming in at No. 23, Harvard most recently defeated Ivy League foe, Cornell in the ECAC semifinals.
Harvard has been ranked inside the top-20 in all the polls since they were first released on January 4, 2023. The Crimson was able to crack the top-10 last week, landing at No. 9 and continues to reach new heights with its current spot.
Rueb continues, "This team is full of hardworking and focused student-athletes. You don't have to look any further than their remarkable 3.88 team GPA this fall as evidence of determination. They push each other to improve each day on and off the court. That is the most important metric we use to judge our performance."
Despite its substantial number of ranked matchups so early in the season, the tests will continue as the team hits the latter portion of the spring.
Rueb says, "Our outcome goals are focused on how we perform in April and May. So, the bulk of the work is still ahead of us."
Following, its spring break trip, the Crimson will return to Cambridge to open a slate of home competitions. Before an Ivy season that will contain five teams currently inside the top-75, Harvard will welcome No. 65 Virginia Tech and defending national champions No. 18 University of Virginia.
