San Diego State University’s men’s tennis team lost a close 4-3 match to No. 47 Harvard at the Hogan Tennis Center on March 17. The Aztecs won the doubles point and secured victories on courts two and three in singles, but were unable to overcome the Crimson.
The result brings San Diego State’s season record to 6-9, while Harvard improves to 10-6. The match was decided in the final singles contest after both teams traded points throughout the afternoon.
In doubles play, Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Imran Daniel Hazli defeated Rohan Murali and Kolos Kincses 6-1 on court two. Aleksi Lofman and William Kleege clinched the doubles point for San Diego State with a 6-3 win over Nathan Blokhin and Benjamin Privara on court one. The third doubles match was unfinished with Lars Johann and Brock Anderson trailing their opponents.
Harvard responded by winning the first three singles matches. Mitchell Lee beat Anderson 6-1, 6-2; Masato Perera defeated Finn Willman 6-3, 6-1; and Blokhin overcame Johann in straight sets. Gonzalez Fitzmaurice put another point on the board for San Diego State with a three-set victory over Melchior Delloye, while Hazli added a third point by defeating Privara in three sets as well.
The deciding match came down to court one where Lofman faced Murali. After dropping the first set in a tiebreaker, Lofman took the second set but ultimately lost in the third, giving Harvard its fourth point and sealing their win.
San Diego State will begin conference play next as they host Air Force on Sunday at noon.
