Netwomen Open Year; Shine in Syracuse

The Harvard women's tennis team successfully opened its season at the Syracuse Invitational Tournament last weekend at Syracuse, NY.

Sophomores Tonya Stasiak and Amy Delone won their respective flights at first and second singles, and freshman Jennifer Minkus took top honors in the sixth slot.

Third-year Coach Ed Krass was very pleased with his team's performance. Harvard, the top-ranked team in the East and the Ivy League over the last five years, proved its dominance by winning three of the six singles flights.

Junior Christina Dragomirescu won the back draw and finished fifth in the third flight, while Co-Captain Kathy Mulvehal captured sixth in the fourth singles draw. The fifth singles player, junior Nicole Rival, did not place.

Second-seeded Stasiak breezed past Brown's Anna Sloane, 6-0, 6-0, in the semis before defeating Kelly Erven of Penn State, 7-6, 7-6, in the final. Erven had knocked off the top seed in tournament's opening round.

In the second draw, Delone, seeded third, upset the top-seeded player, Lauren Fortgang of Brown, 6-3, 6-2, in the title match.

Minkus, after going three sets in the semis, defeated Sandra King of Dartmouth, 6-4, 6-0, to capture the sixth bracket.

Krass, who has captured two Ivy League titles in his first two years, said that the freshman "will be a very strong contributor to the varsity this year."

In the doubles competition, the team did not fare as well. Dragomirescu and Delone did not place in the first flight, while Stastiak and Mulvehal captured third place in the second doubles draw. Rival and Minkus won the consolation to finish fifth in the third flight.

The team's next test will be this weekend at the Harvard Inivtational. The Crimson will host the tournament at Beren Tennis Center. The field of teams includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas as well as Princeton, Yale and Boston College.

"We have a chance to do very well this weekend," Mulvehal said, "though, the competition will be tougher."

THE NOTEBOOK: Co-Captain Kristin Bland, who was sidelined with an injury for the Syracuse tournament, will compete this weekend.