SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – No. 10 Harvard men's tennis opened up its spring break trip yesterday by notching a pair of victories against No. 47 UC Santa Barbara and Cal Lutheran, winning 4-3 and 7-0, respectively. 

Harvard Defeats No. 47 UC Santa Barbara, 4-3

The Crimson fell behind early, dropping the doubles point after losses at the No. 2 and 3 positions.  Despite that, Ronan Jachuck was able to quickly get Harvard on the board, downing Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB) at the No. 2 spot with identical 6-2 decisions. 
 
The Crimson and the Gauchos then traded wins through the next four completed matches with Harvard taking victories at the No. 3 and 6 spots while falling at No. 1 and 4.  First, Masato Perera picked up his second win of the dual season by defeating Conrad Brown (UCSB) in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. 
 
Melchior Delloye followed and pulled the match to three-all with a come from behind three-set victory.  After dropping the first set, 4-6, the sophomore powered back with a pair of dominant, 6-2 and 6-1 second and third sets to grab a crucial victory for the Crimson. 
 
Rohan Murali ultimately allowed the Harvard to slip past the Gauchos with a resilient final set tiebreaker victory.  After falling, 4-6, in the opening set, the first-year posted a dominant 6-1 second set.  With a third set to decide the match, Murali was in a back-and-forth battle with Kai Brady (UCSB), forcing tiebreakers.  Ultimately, Murali dominated, only dropping one point to secure the Harvard victory. 

Results

Doubles

1. No. 12 Daniel Milavsky/Cooper Williams vs. No. 42 Gianluca Brunkow/Pablo Masjuan (UCSB), 4-5 DNF
2. Kai Brady/Lucca Liu (UCSB) def. No. 75 Ronan Jachuck/Alan Yim, 6-2
3. Conrad Brown/Luka Mrsic (UCSB) def. Melchior Delloye/David Lins, 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 3
Singles

1. No. 37 Pablo Masjuan (UCSB) def. No. 104 Daniel Milavsky, 6-1, 7-6 (2)
2. Ronan Jachuck def. Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB), 6-2, 6-2
3. Melchior Delloye def. Lucca Liu (UCSB), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
4. Luka Mrsic (UCSB) def. Valdemar Pape, 6-4, 6-3
5. Rohan Murali def. Kai Brady (UCSB), 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1)
6. Masato Perera def. Conrad Brown (UCSB), 7-5, 6-4

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

Harvard Sweeps Cal Lutheran, 7-0

The Crimson closed its first day of competition out west with a dominant showing against Cal Lutheran.  While sweeping the Kingsmen, Harvard did not drop more than three games in any match. 
 
Beginning in doubles, the Crimson pairing of Valdemar Pape and Alan Yim at No. 2 and David Arkow and Marc Ktiri at the No. 3 spot, earned the squad the doubles point with 6-0 and 6-2 wins, respectively. 
 
The Crimson quickly moving through singles, winning in straight sets at every spot.  At the No. 2, 3, and 4 positions, Pape, Yim, and Ktiri all posted identical 6-0, 6-1 decisions over their opponents. 
 
Playing in his first match at the No. 1 position, Masato Perera downed Ethan Sherwood (Cal Lutheran), 6-2, 6-1 to pull the Crimson within a win of sweeping the Kingsmen. 
 
David Lins' dominant identical 6-0 set performance at the No. 5 position gave the Crimson its fourth point of the day, ultimately clinching the victory. 

Results

Doubles

1. David Lins/Masato Perera vs. Ethan Sherwood/Sudre (Cal Lutheran), 5-3 DNF
2. Valdemar Pape/Alan Yim def. Andy Ai/James Truong (Cal Lutheran), 6-0
3. David Arkow/Marc Ktiri def. Jakob Buehler/Raphael Simon (Cal Lutheran), 6-2

Order of finish: 2, 3
Singles

1. Masato Perera def. Ethan Sherwood (Cal Lutheran), 6-2, 6-1
2. Valdemar Pape def. Andy Ai (Cal Lutheran), 6-0, 6-1
3. Alan Yim def. Raphael Simon (Cal Lutheran), 6-0, 6-1
4. Marc Kitri def. Jake Anderson (Cal Lutheran), 6-0, 6-1
5. David Lins def. James Truong (Cal Lutheran), 6-0, 6-0
6. David Arkow def. Jakob Buehler (Cal Lutheran), 6-0, 6-2

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

Harvard Highlights

• With its pair of victories yesterday, the Crimson now stand at 12-4, having now won five straight matches. 
• Across the two matches, the Crimson went 10-2 in singles action.    
• Ronan Jachuck moved to 8-3 for the second with his dominant 6-2, 6-2 performance at the No. 2 position against Gianluca Brunkow (UCSB). 
• By clinching the victory for the Crimson against UCSB, Rohan Murali secured his first ever collegiate dual match victory, defeating Kai Brady, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1). 
• Melchior Delloye's victory against UCSB marks the sophomores first appearance and victory at the No. 3 spot. 
• David Arkow and Marc Ktiri teamed up for the first time this season, defeating their Cal Lutheran opponent, 6-2, to secure the doubles point for the Crimson.
• Masato Perera posted a strong, 6-2, 6-1 victory while appearing at the No. 1 position for the first time in his career. 
• David Lins dropped the least number of points of any Crimson player yesterday, not dropping a single game in his straight set victory against Cal Lutheran. 

Next Up

Harvard will return to action in two days to face the No. 40 nationally ranked squad in Pepperdine on Friday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT.