First Up for Netmen: Harvard Invitational

You know summer's over when the Harvard Invitational comes to town.

The Harvard men's tennis team, which finished last season undefeated in the Ivy League, will get an opportunity to put a summer's worth of experience to the test this weekend when it hosts the Harvard Invitational at the Palmer Dixon Courts. The tournament field consists of Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Nebraska, Iowa and nationally-ranked Rice.

Harvard is still plagued with injuries, including Co-Captain Mark Leschly's wrist injury, which will preclude his participation. Last year, he advanced to the finals of the singles competition, defeating Yale's top player, Craig Kennedy, in the semifinals.

In addition, senior Roger Berry's elbow problems will also keep him out of the tournament. He teamed up with Joe Vidauretta to take the title in the B-doubles competition last year. Junior Jonathan Cardi is finally regaining the form that put him at the top of the Crimson's singles roster after being bothered by a nagging shoulder injury for the last 18 months.

In last year's doubles competition, sophomores Albert Chang and Mike Shyjan dropped a tough three-setter in the second round to eventual champions, Tim Donovan and Marcel Morariu of Brown.

"Considering how much tennis I played over the summer, I'm in surprisingly good shape," Change said. "The other guys on the team are playing really well, so it should be a good tournament for us."

Classmates Derek Brown and Michael Zimmerman also should pose tough challenges in singles competition.