CAMBRDIGE, Mass. – No. 37 Drake men's tennis dropped a close 4-3 decision to No. 32 Harvard at the Murr Tennis Center.

"Great effort from the boys again today. Once again, we took the doubles point but failed to capitalize on the early lead," Drake head coach Davidson Kozlowski said.

The Bulldogs won the doubles point, as Ben Lott and Calum MacGoech picked up a win at the No. 2 spot and Vinny Gillespie and Bayo Philips secured the point with a 7-5 victory at No. 1 to remain undefeated in dual action.

Drake went up 2-0 after a 6-3, 6-2 victory by freshman Ben Clark at No. 5.

"We got a great spark from Ben Clark, after reinserting him into the singles lineup. He played flawless in a straight set win," Kozlowski said. "It looked like we were in great position with a 2-0 lead and first set wins on three courts and then serving for the first set on two other courts. However, again we failed to fully take advantage of the position we put ourselves in."

The Crimson tied it up at two with victories at No. 6 and No. 2. MacGeoch put the Bulldogs back ahead, 3-2, after a 7-5, 7-5 win at the No. 4 spot. Harvard went on to complete the comeback victory with wins at No. 1 and No. 3.

"We have a very determined group that is dedicated to the process, so we'll manage this and continue to improve as our best tennis is ahead of us," said Kozlowski.

Drake will return to the Roger Knapp Tennis Center on Sunday, Feb. 7 against Western Michigan and UW-Green Bay.

#32 Harvard 4, #37 Drake 3
Jan 31, 2016 at Cambridge, Mass. (Murr Tennis Center) 

Singles competition

1. Nicky Hu (HARV) def. Lott, Ben (DU) 7-6 (5), 7-5

2. Sabastian Beltrame (HARV) def. Philips, Bayo (DU) 7-6 (0), 6-3

3. Brian Yeung (HARV) def. Gillespie, Vinny (DU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-4

4. MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Kenny Toe (HARV) 7-5, 7-5

5. Clark, Ben (DU) def. Andy Zhou (HARV) 6-3, 6-2

6. Kelvin Lam (HARV) def. Tom Hands (DU) 6-4, 6-3

 

Doubles competition

1. Philips, Bayo/Gillespie, Vinny (DU) def. Nicky Hu/Brian Yeung (HARV) 7-5

2. Lott, Ben/MacGeoch, Calum (DU) def. Sabastian Beltrame/Kenny Tao (HARV) 6-2

3. Conor Haughey/Kelvin Lam (HARV) def. Clark, Ben/Wood, Ben (DU) 6-4

 

Match Notes

Drake 2-3; National ranking #37

Harvard 4-2; National ranking #32