CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – No. 15 Harvard men’s tennis advanced to the final of ITA Kickoff weekend by downing UCLA, 4-2, this morning.  With its win over the Bruins, the Crimson advance to face Northwestern tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. for a chance to advance to the ITA Indoor Nationals in New York City, New York. 

How it Happened

The Crimson started the day down 1-0 after falling at No. 2 and 3 doubles.  Despite trailing, Harvard went to work quickly in singles, pulling out to leads in four matches through the first sets. 
 
Daniel Milavsky tied up the match by picking up the first singles win of the day.  The junior grabbed the victory over Alexander Hoogmartens (UCLA) in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.  Henry von der Schulenburg followed closely behind with his own straight set victory at the No. 2 position.  While narrowly winning the first set, 7-5, the senior dropped just two games in the second set to put the Crimson up 2-1. 
 
A win at the No. 4 spot tied the match back up but a Cooper Williams win put the Crimson within a victory of advancing.  Playing at the No. 1 position, Williams pulled out a pair of wins in tiebreakers to claim the straight set win. 
 
For the second time in three wins, Melchior Delloye clinched the win for Harvard.  Playing against Jorge Plans Gonzalez (UCLA) at the No. 5 position, the opponents split the first two sets.  Delloye took the opening set 6-4 before falling in tiebreakers, 6-7 (5) in the next.  Ultimately, the sophomore cruised to a 6-2 final set win to secure Harvard’s third victory of the season. 

Results

Harvard – 4, UCLA – 2
Doubles

1. No. 5 Cooper Williams/Daniel Milavsky vs. Timothy Li/Giacomo Revelli (UCLA), 5-5 DNF
2. Spencer Johnson/Emon van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Ronan Jachuck/Masato Perera, 6-3
3. Alexander Hoogmartens/Govind Nanda (UCLA) def. Alan Yim/Henry von der Schulenburg, 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 2
Singles

1. No. 15 Cooper Williams def. Govind Nanda (UCLA), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7)
2. Henry von der Schulenburg def. Giacomo Revelli (UCLA), 7-5, 6-2
3. Daniel Milavsky def. Alexander Hoogmartens (UCLA), 6-3, 6-4
4. Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. Ronan Jachuck, 7-6 (2), 6-4
5. Melchior Delloye def. Jorge Plans Gonzalez (UCLA), 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2
6. Masato Perera vs. Emon va Loben Sels (UCLA), 6-7 (5), 6-4, 4-3 DNF

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

Harvard Highlights

• With the win, Harvard notches its first ever victory over the Bruins, bringing the series to 1-8 in favor of UCLA.  The match up in the Murr Center today was the first between the two squads in 28 years. 
• As a team, the Crimson remained undefeated at the No. 1 and 3 positions, sitting at 3-0 and 4-0, respectively. 
• With his straight set victory, Cooper Williams remains undefeated in dual play, improving to 2-0 and 8-3 overall. 
• Daniel Milavsky continues to perform in dual action sitting at 3-0 in singles play and 2-1 in doubles.
• Melchior Delloye sits at 2-0 in dual singles action with both wins serving as clinching victories for the Crimson. 

Next Up

With the win, Harvard advances to the ITA Kickoff final and will face Northwestern tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. in the Murr Center.  With a victory over Northwestern, the Crimson would punch its ticket to the ITA Indoor Nationals.