Shyjan, Chang Kod in First Round of ITCA Championships

Talk about travel delays.

First, the Harvard men's tennis team's Albert Chang and Mike Shyjan's flight to the Volvo/ITCA intercollegiate championships in Austin, Texas was delayed three hours at Boston's Logan Airport because of thick fog.

Then, Shyjan and Chang missed their connection in Houston, and had to take a later flight.

To top it all off, Chang and Shyjan were eliminated in first-round action.

Chang lost a grueling three-set match to Stanford sophomore Mike Flanagan, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, and later joined with Shyjan in a doubles loss to 21st-ranked Dave Blair and Mark Meirstein of Florida, 6-0, 6-2.

Both players claimed to have suffered from the lack of sleep caused by the missed plane connection.

Late Arrival

"We didn't get in [to Austin] until 1 a.m," Chang said. "I had to get up at 6:30 for my game."

Flanagan took early advantage of Chang's tired condition to win the first set by a break, but Chang rebounded strongly to take the second set.

The third set was just too much for the fatigued Chang.

"I was exhausted," he said after the game.

"We teach our players to go three sets," Crimson Assistant Coach Greg Russell said. "But in this case, the fatigue is understandable."

Chang was allowed an hour of rest before taking the court with Shyjan for their doubles match against Blair and Meirstein.

Chang was filling in for Shyjan's normal doubles partner, Harvard Co-Captain Mike Zimmerman.

Zimmerman Hamstrung

Zimmerman reaggravated an old hamstring injury in September and has not competed for much of this season.

The combination of fatigue and lack of communication doomed the valiant Crimson effort.

"Everything that could go wrong for us did go wrong," Shyjan said.

The losses were unfortunate for the Crimson squad, which was projected to fare much better.

Chang is ranked 10th in the country, while the doubles tandem of Shyjan and Zimmerman is ranked second overall.

Invitations

Only 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams were invited to play at the championships.

"It's a tremendous honor [to be selected]," Russell said. "Next to the NCAA [tournament], no tournament is bigger.

To qualify for the tournament, a player or team must first reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament the previous spring.

Furthermore, the player or team must achieve All-America status following that tournament. Chang garnered All-America honors in singles, and Shyjan and Zimmerman accomplished the same feat in doubles.

This was Chang's first trip to the Volvo Championships, while Shyjan was competing for the second time. Last year, the doubles team of Shyjan and Zimmerman was defeated in the second round.

First-Class Accomodations

Despite the losses, Chang and Shyjan insist they are enjoying themselves.

"There's no pressure, and I'm relaxed," Shyjan said.

"It's a lot of fun," Chang said of his luxury hotel accomodations. "We're really well taken care of."

With their first-round eliminations, Chang and Shyjan are relegated to the consolation bracket.

But the missed connection and lack of sleep loom large in their minds after the first day of play.

"It feels like we're still in the airport," Shyjan said.