Netwomen Look to Scalp Indians

It's do or die for the Harvard women's tennis team.

Riding atop the crest of a three-game winning streak, the Crimson duels with Eastern Regional number-one seed William & Mary today at noon in Williamsburg, Va. The Crimson--who recently upset ninth-ranked Pepperdine in Malibu, Cal.--must prevail in today's match to have a legitimate shot at capturing the Eastern Regional title and cracking the Top 25 polls that come out April 17th.

The Eastern Regional champion, selected at the end of the season through a poll, will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA championships May 9-17 in Gainesville, Fla.

"This match will set the tone for the NCAAs," Harvard's top-seeded singles player Cristina Dragomirescu said. "[William & Mary] is unquestionably our main competitor in the East."

Some Crimson players feel that Harvard's west coast whirl over spring break bolstered the team's self-confidence and match experience outdoors.

"[The California matches] definitely helped us a lot," Harvard Co-Captain Jamie Henikoff said. "I'm excited we're playing William & Mary right after the week in California, because we have experience battling with the wind. When you throw an indoor team like us outside, the sun and wind are big shocks. And we overcame it. I personally think that Pepperdine and California made people think [we] could win the East."

But Harvard's performance in its fall clash with William & Mary yielded less optimistic results.

Competing without Dragomirescu and number-three Jamie Henikoff, the Crimson caved in to the Indians, 8-1.

Some chalk up the loss to match inexperience.

"We were a brand new team," freshman Melinda Wang said. "Jen Minkus and Amy deLone, for example, were put together for the first time to play doubles. We didn't know how to act as a team."

Harvard faces a resilient, determined lineup highlighted by one toprated singles player, Danielle Durak--the East's second-ranked player. Harvard's second-seeded singles player, Amy deLone split a pair of matches with Durak in the fall.

Krass' Kardiac Kids may meet their match in the feisty Indians.

"[William & Mary] is a very scrappy team," Henikoff said. "They don't have one or two players with unbeatable skills. But they're ready to hang in for five, six hours. Anything to win the match."

The Crimson must maintain the high intensity level it built up during its three-game streak.

"We're really getting psyched for [William & Mary]," Henikoff said. "We're going to get more and more psyched as we get into the match. This match is it for us."

The Crimson also must maintain the mental edge, if it hopes to prevail in such a psychologically wearing match.

"[William & Mary] can be much less stable than we are," Harvard Co-Captain Nicole Rival said. "We have to exploit their negative attitudes--when they get down on themselves and become psychotic."

THE NOTEBOOK: Following the William & Mary match, Harvard travels to Charlottesville, Va. to take on Virginia Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The Crimson fell to the Cavaliers, 6-3, in the fall.

"We lost to [Virginia] in the fall, but the match could've gone either way," Wang said. "This time they're missing their number-one."