The No. 28 Harvard men's tennis team kicks off the 2013 portion of its schedule with the Harvard Winter Invite this weekend. The Crimson welcomes local foe Boston College and Marist to the Murr Center Tennis Courts for the event.  

 

About The Crimson

Harvard put together a strong fall 2012 season and starts the New Year off as the top-ranked team in the Ivy League at No. 28 in the Jan. 3 ITA polls.

 

Sophomore Denis Nguyen returns with hopes of occupying the No. 1 singles position for the Crimson, after a strong year at No. 2 as a freshman. Nguyen earned a berth in the quarterfinals at the USTA/ITA Northeastern Regional Championships and also partnered with rookie Kelvin Lam to take the 'A' doubles crown at the Harvard Halloween Classic this fall. Senior captain Andy Nguyen capped his fall by earning all-tournament honors at the William and Mary Tribe Invite, and looks to be a mainstay in both the singles and doubles lineups.

 

Sophomore Shaun Chaudhuri shined at the Halloween event, winning the 'A' singles bracket and 'B' doubles flight with classmate Henry Steer, and hopes to be a force in singles play. Rookies Nicky Hu and Nicholas Mahlangu also look to break into the Harvard lineup this spring.

 

Last Time Out

Andy Nguyen and Nicky Hu led the way at the Tribe Invite in Williamsburg, Va., as the Crimson capped its fall season Nov. 9-11 on the campus of William and Mary. Nguyen posted a 2-1 singles record and teamed with Hu for a 3-1 doubles mark to earn all-tournament honors in both areas. As a team, Harvard went 5-2 in singles on day one, getting additional wins from Alex Steinroeder, Kelvin Lam, Nicholas Mahlangu and Henry Steer. Six more players earned singles wins on the final day of the tournament, and two of three doubles teams claimed wins to finish the fall slate in style.

 

Scouting The Eagles

Boston College got a good look at the Ivy League tennis talent, taking part in the Princeton Invitational, Brown Invitation and ITA Northeast Regionals during its fall schedule. The team ended its fall slate at the Seahawk Fall Invitational, hosted by UNC Wilmington the first weekend of November. The Eagles took on Davidson, East Tennessee State and the host Seahawks at the event, dropping decisions to each school over the weekend. The Eagles are led by captains senior Billy Grokenberger and junior Jonathan Raude.

 

Scouting The Red Foxes

The Red Foxes saw a similar smattering of Ivy teams, participating in the Brown Fall Classic, USTA Invitational, Columbia Fall Classic and ITA Northeast Regionals this fall. Marist also took part in a dual match with Connecticut Oct. 16, downing the Huskies, 4-2, on their home courts. While the Marist doubles teams got swept by the Connecticut duos, the Red Foxes came roaring back in singles, taking four of five completed matches for the victory. Will Reznek led the charge with a victory at No. 2, while Joris Van Eck, Dalen Klassen and Joseph Dube also collected singles wins. Marist ended its fall campaign with eight players competing in the ITA regionals, four of whom advanced to the round of 64 in singles.

 

Tough Road Ahead

Harvard's 2013 spring schedule will pit the Crimson against some of the best competition in the nation with Harvard potentially facing off against six teams ranked within the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) preseason top 40. The Crimson opens its dual season against No. 30 Notre Dame could see No. 8 Oklahoma in the second round of the ITA kickoff event. Harvard hosts No. 22 Indiana in just its second home match of the season March 2 and faces No. 34 Louisville a day later.