Tigers Take Down No. 11 Harvard

Wednesday, January 17

Memphis, Tenn.

6:00 PM

University of Memphis

#11 Harvard

Jan 17, 2024 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis men's tennis team captured one of the best wins in program history Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory over No. 11 Harvard at Leftwich Tennis Facility.

It marks the highest-ranked opponent that the Tigers (2-0) have beaten in the last decade.

Memphis got the match started with the doubles point after having to come from behind. The Tigers dropped a 6-1 decision on court three before Connor Gannon and Harry Rock tied things up with a 7-5 victory on court two.

The Tigers' top tandem of Pablo Alemany and Charlie Barry battled to the wire, ultimately knocking off the nation's No. 5 doubles pairing 7-6 (8-6) to give Memphis a 1-0 advantage.

"The doubles point started really well. Harvard is incredibly good at doubles, so when No. 3 lost, I was a little worried, but our No. 1 and 2 teams this year are pretty special this year," head coach Chris Doerr said. "They held it together and I think that helped us create that self-belief that we can do these things."

In singles action, Harvard (0-1) quickly took a 2-1 lead with a pair of sweeps on courts three and four.

Connor Gannon pulled Memphis even with a hard-fought win in straight sets at the No. 2 position (6-4, 7-6 (7-4)).

The Tigers put senior Juan Zabala in the sixth position after not seeing the court in the season opener. The move paid off as the Guayaquil, Ecuador native swept Masato Perera 6-4, 6-4 to put Memphis in front 3-2.

With the last two singles on courts one and five going in three sets, it was freshman Maxime Dubouch who prevailed with match point after coming from behind at No. 5 (3-6, 6-3, 6-1).

Pablo Alemany was in a battle with No. 15 Cooper Williams at the top spot when the match was called (7-6, 5-7, 1-3, unfinished).

"No fans and a little bit of snow, but it doesn't bother these boys," Doerr said. "We are here to do some great things and I am so proud of them. They work so hard, and they deserve every bit of this success.

"With having no fans here, the guys on the bench had a really big job of keeping everyone focused and fired up. I wanted everyone to know that they had a role in the win today. Now that we've experienced that, hopefully we will do that every match and realize that is what it takes to beat good teams."

Memphis 4, #11 Harvard 2
Singles competition
1. Pablo Alemany (MEM) vs. No. 15 Cooper Williams (HAR) 7-6, 5-7, 1-3, unfinished
2. Conor Gannon (MEM) def. Henry von der Schulenburg (HAR) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Daniel Milavsky (HAR) def. #80 Pau Fanlo (MEM) 6-1, 6-4
4. Ronan Jachuck (HAR) def. Harry Rock (MEM) 7-5, 6-1
5. Maxime Dubouch (MEM) def. Rohan Murali (HAR) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
6. Juan Zabala (MEM) def. Masato Perera (HAR) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Pablo Alemany / Charlie Barry (MEM) def. No. 5 Cooper Williams / Daniel Milavsky (HAR) 7-6 (8-6)
2. Conor Gannon / Harry Rock (MEM) def. Alan Yim / Henry von der Schulenburg (HAR) 7-5
3. Ronan Jachuck / Masato Perera (HAR) def. Maxime Dubouch / Pau Fanlo (MEM) 6-1

Order of Finish:
Doubles (3,2,1)
Singles (4,3,2,6,5)

How to follow the Tigers: For complete information on Memphis Tiger Men's Tennis, visit www.GoTigersGo.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.