CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard men's tennis (6-4) split its Super Bowl Sunday doubleheader yesterday afternoon, narrowly falling to No. 13 NC State, 4-3, and defeating crosstown foe Boston University, 4-0.

How it Happened vs. NC State

It was a gritty battle from the opening serve with the Crimson eventually stealing the doubles point in a tiebreak in the final outstanding match. 

The two teams traded 6-3 wins at the top two courts, leaving the doubles point in the hands of the No. 3 spot matchup.  James MacDonald and Masato Perera ultimately remained perfect on the year, defeating Charlie Camus and William Manning (NC State) in the tiebreaker.  MacDonald provided the final blow, delivering an ace to lift the Crimson to a 7-3 tiebreaker win. 

The Wolfpack regrouped in singles, notching three straight victories to power in front 3-1.  Despite the momentum shifting to NC State, the Crimson continued battling beginning with Rohan Murali defeating Ainius Sabaliauskas (NC State) in straight sets, 7-6 (8), 6-3. 

Benjamin Privara then added another Harvard point to tie the match, recording a strong come-from-behind victory over the No. 11 nationally ranked singles player, Martin Borisiouk (NC State).  After falling 6-3 in the first set, Privara recorded two of his own 6-3 results to defeat the top-15 player.

The Wolfpack ultimately came out on top, stealing the final match at the No. 5 spot in three sets. 

Results vs. NC State

Harvard – 3, No. 13 NC State – 4
Doubles

1. Nathan Blokhin/Benjamin Privara (Harvard) def. Cody Benton/Ainius Sabaliauskas (NC State), 6-3
2. Jules Leroux/Martin Borisiouk (NC State) def. Kolos Kincses/Rohan Murali (Harvard), 6-3
3. James MacDonald/Masato Perera (Harvard) def. Charlie Camus/William Manning (NC State), 7-6 (3)

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles

1. Benjamin Privara (Harvard) def. No. 11 Martin Borisiouk (NC State), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. No. 34 Rohan Murali (Harvard) def. Ainius Sabaliauskas (NC State), 7-6 (8), 6-3
3. No. 69 Jules Leroux (NC State) def. No. 27 Nathan Blokhin (Harvard), 7-5, 6-4
4. No. 88 William Manning (NC State) def. Masato Perera (Harvard), 6-3, 6-1
5. No. 114 Charlie Camus (NC State) def. Mitchell Lee (Harvard), 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-0
6. Darius Pop (NC State) def. Marc Ktiri (Harvard), 6-3, 6-4

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

How it Happened vs. Boston University

The Crimson opened competition against the crosstown foe by recording its fifth consecutive doubles point.  The duos of Nathan Blokhin/Benjamin Privara and James MacDonald/Masato Perera each recorded 6-1 wins against the Terriers to put Harvard up early. 

Harvard quickly cruised to the sweep, recording three straight-set wins on court two, three, and five.  While playing at the No. 2 singles spot, Perera defeated Payton Jim-On (BU) while dropping just four games in two sets. 

Kolos Kincses tallied his second win of the season, defeating Ege Topkoc (BU), 6-3, 6-2, at court five. 

Mitchell Lee then bounced back with a 6-3, 6-3 win over David Asenov (BU) to clinch the victory for Harvard.

Results vs. Boston University

Harvard – 4, Boston University – 0
Doubles

1. Nathan Blokhin/Benjamin Privara (Harvard) def. Jakob Esterowitz/Payton Jim-On (BU), 6-1
2. Kolos Kincses/Rohan Murali (Harvard) def. Andrew Andea/Jaydon Barki (BU), 5-3 DNF
3. James MacDonald/Masato Perera (Harvard) def. Ege Topkoc/Adrian Quiros (BU), 6-1

Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles

1. No. 27 Nathan Blokhin (Harvard) vs. Jakob Esterowitz (BU), 5-7, 6-2 DNF
2. Masato Perera (Harvard) def. Payton Jim-On (BU), 6-3, 6-1
3. Mitchell Lee (Harvard) def. David Asenov (BU), 6-3, 6-3
4. Marc Ktiri (Harvard) vs. Adrian Quiros (BU), 6-4, 5-3 DNF
5. Kolos Kincses (Harvard) def. Ege Topkoc (BU), 6-3, 6-2
6. James MacDonald (Harvard) vs. Andrew Andea (BU), 6-4, 4-3 DNF

Order of finish: 2, 5, 3

Next Up

The Crimson will hit the road next to compete at the ECAC Championships beginning on Friday, February 13 in Princeton, N.J.