Netwomen Cruise

The Harvard women's tennis team took to the courts Saturday in the ITCA Team Qualifier Championship at Yale as the number one ranked squad.

The Crimson lived up to its billing, overpowering teams from Dartmouth and Syracuse to earn a berth at the Eastern finals on October 19.

Yale, ranked second in a field that included squads from Boston College, Boston University, Pennsylvania and Rutgers, also advanced to the finals.

Harvard brought a youthful team to New Haven, featuring juniors Rachel Pollock and Melinda Wong, sophomore Samantha Ettus, and freshmen Cisca Mok, Agata Passent, Kendra Harris and Erika deLone.

The Crimson's first opponent of the tournament was another Ivy League squad, Dartmouth. Harvard jumped out to a 4-1 lead behind an outstanding performance by Mok. Mok downed Debra Halay 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 to push Dartmouth to the brink of elimination.

But the Big Green fought back, picking up one singles match, and two doubles matches to even the score. DeLone and Melinda Wong then came through for Harvard, squeaking out a tough 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 match from Alexis Boss and Cathy Birkeland.

Next up for the Crimson was the Syracuse Orangemen. Mok and Passent started things off on the right foot for the Crimson, pounding Syracuse's Jennifer Agate and Karen Garber 6-4, 6-1. Ettus clinched the Crimson's spot in the finals by coming from behind to defeat Corina Bode 6-7 (10-12), 6-4, 6-1 to assure Harvard of a spot in the finals.

"We are a really deep team," Mok said. "We know the things we have to work on to bring our play to a higher level."

The youthful Crimson women, along with Yale, will be joined at the Eastern championships by the University of Virginia and William and Mary, both of which garnered berths in separate action over the weekend.