SAN DIEGO, Calif. – In the first contest of a three-match week in California, Harvard men's tennis pulled out a 4-3 win in a nearly four-hour match versus San Diego State.
The Aztecs powered ahead with the doubles point following wins at the top two courts.
The Crimson responded quickly, however, with two straight-set wins to secure a lead in the match.
Mitchell Lee struck first with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over Brock Anderson (SDSU).
Masato Perera followed closely behind, defeating Finn Willman (SDSU), 6-3, 6-1.
Nathan Blokhin recorded the third point of the day, giving Harvard a 3-1 lead with a win at court four. The first-year won a straight-set battle, 7-5, 6-3, over Lars Johann (SDSU) to push the Crimson within a point of victory.
San Diego State never went away, as wins at courts two and three tied the match.
Rohan Murali – the No. 84 nationally ranked singles player – came up clutch for the Crimson in the final match. The junior won the first set in a tiebreak (7-6(6)) and fell in the second set (7-5) but rallied in the third (6-3) to secure Harvard's 10
th win of the season.
Results
Harvard – 4,
San Diego State – 3
Doubles
- Aleksi Lofman/Kleege (SDSU) def. Benjamin Privara/Nathan Blokhin (Harvard), 6-3
- Eugenio Gonzalez/Imran Hazli (SDSU) def. Kolos Kincses/Rohan Murali (Harvard), 6-1
- James MacDonald/Masato Perera (Harvard) vs. Lars Johann/Brock Anderson (SDSU), 4-3 DNF
Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles
- No. 84 Rohan Murali (Harvard) def. Aleksi Lofman (SDSU), 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-3
- Imran Hazli (SDSU) def. No. 112 Benjamin Privara (Harvard), 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
- Eugenio Gonzalez (SDSU) def. Melchior Delloye (Harvard), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
- Nathan Blokhin (Harvard) def. Lars Johann (SDSU), 7-5, 6-3
- Masato Perera (Harvard) def. Finn Willman (SDSU), 6-3, 6-1
- Mitchell Lee (Harvard) def. Brock Anderson (SDSU), 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Next Up
The Crimson will continue its spring break trip with a matchup against No. 18 San Diego on Thursday, March 19 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
