TUCSON, AZ. – The No. 21 Harvard men's tennis team saw its season come to a close on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-0 to No. 10 Arizona in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite the final score, the Crimson battled hard in match that had close contested play.

"I'm so proud of this team and our season," said Andrew Rueb '95, the Scott Mead '77 Head Coach for Harvard Men's Tennis. "Big shoutout to our graduating seniors, Danny and David. They were just sensational all year, on and off the court."

Harvard struck first in doubles on the top court, where senior duo Daniel Milavsky and David Lins delivered a commanding 6-2 win over Arizona's No. 45 ranked pair of Colton Smith and Iñaki Cabrera-Bello.

"Their record in doubles, going 18-2, has to be one of the best single season dual match records in Harvard tennis history," Rueb said. "What an accomplishment. And Danny in singles was incredible and was our leader all season."

Despite the strong start, Arizona responded by clinching the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.

In singles, Arizona extended its lead with a win on court six, as Casper Christensen (Arizona) defeated Mitchell Lee in straight sets.

On court one, No. 34 Daniel Milavsky battled No. 5 Colton Smith, pushing points but ultimately falling 6-3, 6-3.

On court two, No. 90 Benjamin Privara got off to a strong start by taking the first set against No. 6 Jay Friend, but the Wildcat rallied to take the final two sets and seal the match for Arizona.

Despite the sweep, the Crimson were battling to the very end as Rohan Murali, Valdemar Pape, and Melchior Delloye all forced a third set on their respective courts.  

"We learned a lot from the match today," Rueb added. "Arizona was a few points better. They are #10 in the country for a reason. Congrats to them and their team. We learned a lot from the match today and our returner players will come back stronger next season from the experience."

Results

Harvard – 0, Arizona – 4
Doubles

1. No. 58 Daniel Milavsky/David Lins (Harvard) def. No. 45 Colton Smith/Iñaki Cabrera-Bello (Arizona) - 6-2
2. Jay Friend/Eric Padgham (Arizona) def. Benjamin Privara/Masa Perera (Harvard) - 7-5
3. Casper Christensen/Filip Gustafsson (Arizona) def. Melchior Delloye/Valdemar Pape (Harvard)- 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles

1. No. 5 Colton Smith (Arizona) def. No. 34 Daniel Milavsky (Harvard) - 6-3, 6-3
2. No. 6 Jay Friend (Arizona) def. No. 90 Benjamin Privara (Harvard) - 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. Rohan Murali (Harvard) vs Zoran Ludoski (Arizona) -   6-4, 2-6, 3-3 DNF
4. Valdemar Pape (Harvard) vs Filip Gustafsson (Arizona) - 1-6, 7-5, 2-4 DNF
5. Melchior Delloye (Harvard) vs Alexander Rozin (Arizona) - 3-6, 6-4, 4-3 DNF
6. Casper Christensen (Arizona) def. Mitchell Lee (Harvard) - 6-0, 6-3

Order of finish: 6, 1, 2