CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In the semifinals of the Ed Collins Spring Classic, No. 7 Harvard Men's Tennis stormed back to defeat No. 36 VCU, 4-3, to advance to the championship match and reach double digit wins for the spring season. 
 
The Crimson began the day by grabbing the doubles point for the fourth match in a row.  In their two doubles wins, the Crimson defeated a pair of ranked duos.  For the first win of the day, Ronan Jachuck and Steven Sun reached double digit wins for the spring season, defeating the No. 57 nationally ranked duo, Matisse Bobichon and Rayane Stable (VCU).
 
Picking up their fourth win of the trip, Daniel Milavsky and Harris Walker clinched the doubles point by defeating No. 72 nationally ranked pairing Charles Bertimon and Maxence Bertimon (VCU), 6-3. 
 
Moving into singles, VCU fought back, pulling ahead 3-1, off of wins from Charles Bertimon (VCU) at the No. 2 position, Romain Gales (VCU) at the No. 6 position, and Maxence Bertimon (VCU) at the No. 4 position.  Pulling within a win from clinching the victory, the Crimson did not back down with three matches outstanding. 
 
Harvard got back on track with a win from Milavsky at the No. 3 position.  After dropping the first set in tiebreakers, the sophomore bounced back to take the next two sets 6-2, 6-4 and put another Crimson win on the board. 
 
Senior co-captain, Walker, pulled out a gritty win at the No. 1 position over No. 88 Matisse Bobichon (VCU) to tie the match.  Walker and Bobichon traded wins in the first two sets played, but Walker looked strong in the final set, winning 6-2.
 
In the final match remaining, Sun saw himself down after the first set.  Refusing to fall the senior powered through two 6-4 decisions in the next two sets to clinch the comeback victory for the Crimson. 
 
Following the gritty performance Andrew Rueb '95, the Scott Mead '77 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Tennis, The James Herscot '58 Coach of Excellence, said "I'm so proud of how this team competed and fought to the very end.  They kept their belief and found a way to win against a very good VCU team.  We are excited for the finals tomorrow against Utah."

Harvard Highlights

• In a match that saw the Crimson down 3-1, Harvard stormed back to pick up their fifth ranked win of the season while improving to 10-3. 
• Having teamed up for the first time all season this week, Walker and Milavsky have been dominant in doubles play.  With their win today, the duo has now won three matches over ranked opponents in the last five days. 
• Leading the team in doubles wins, Jachuck and Sun reached double digit wins today with their win over the No. 57 nationally ranked duo.  The Crimson pairing sits at 10-1 for the spring season. 
• Walker continues to dominate in singles play in his final campaign.  Picking up another ranked victory today, the senior now sits at 9-2 for the spring, having played all but one match at the No. 1 position. 
• Milavsky has looked strong throughout the team's spring break trip.  Playing at the No. 3 position for the Crimson, the sophomore has won all three of his completed singles matches. 
• The matchup between the two squads was the first in 17 years.  With the win, the Crimson expand their lead in the all-time series to 5-3. 

Results

Doubles

1. Daniel Milavsky/Harris Walker def. No. 72 Charles Bertimon/Maxence Bertimon (VCU), 6-3
2. Ronan Jachuck/Steven Sun def. No. 57 Matisse Bobichon/Rayane Stable (VCU), 6-4
3. David Lins/Alan Yim vs. Joaquim Almeida/Romain Gales (VCU), DNF 4-4

Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles

1. No. 26 Harris Walker def. No. 88 Matisse Bobichon (VCU), 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
2. Charles Bertimon (VCU) def. No. 11 Henry von der Schulenburg, 7-6, 6-2
3. Daniel Milavsky def. Rayane Stable (VCU), 6-7, 6-2, 6-4
4. Maxence Bertimon (VCU) def. Ronan Jachuck, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4
5. Steven Sun def. Joaquim Almeida (VCU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Romain Gales (VCU) def. Valdemar Pape, 7-6, 6-1

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

Next Up

The Crimson will compete for the Ed Collins Spring Classic title tomorrow against No. 70 Utah.  The two squads will face off at the Aztec Tennis Center on the campus of San Diego State University at 11:00 a.m. PT/2:00 p.m. ET. 

For the Foes

• Utah finds themselves in the championship match following wins over No. 25 Memphis and No. 51 Princeton. 
• The Utes currently sit at 14-2 for the season, having lost their only matches to Texas Tech and Gonzaga in the ITA Kickoff Weekend back in January. 
• The Utes come in ranked No. 70 in the most recent ITA Division I Men's Collegiate Tennis Team Rankings.  Utah also has the No. 54 ranked singles player and the No. 21 ranked doubles pairing. 
• The Crimson and the Utes have only faced off five times all-time, with Harvard holding a slight 3-2 edge.  Having dropped the first two meetings in the 80's, the Crimson have won the last three matchups including a 4-1 victory last season.