Netmen Put Away W. Virginia, Navy

If success is measured by how far one will go to make a point, then the Harvard men's tennis team has a bright future.

After the 13th-ranked Crimson posted a decisive 7-2 win over Navy on Saturday, Harvard traveled all the way to Morgantown, W. Va., to make point after point after point. The Crimson routed the Mountaineers, 7-2, and virtually clinched an NCAA bid with the victory.

Harvard must still beat a weaker nest of Ivy League contenders to officially capture the Eastern Region title. But if matches against Columbia and Pennsylvania two weeks ago are any indication of what Harvard will be up against, the Crimson has only itself to fear. Harvard didn't lose a single game in either of those matches.

How Sweet It Is

Harvard's victory over West Virginia was sweet revenge. Last year, the Mountaineers upset then 18th-ranked Harvard to win the Eastern Region. Although the Crimson still managed an at-large bid by virtue of a fifth-place finish at Nationals in Louisville, Ky, the loss to West Virginia had been a bitter memory for the Crimson this year. The Mountaineers enjoyed a first-place ranking in the Eastern Region's preseason polls, two voting points ahead of Harvard.

"We definitely had something to prove to West Virginia," said Mike Zimmerman, Harvard's number-one singles player. "I think that home court was a disadvantage for them. West Virginia was a little too relaxed for their own good, like we were last year."

Although Harvard's six-man contingent has been anchored by a trio of juniors--Zimmerman, Mike Shyjan, and Albert Chang--ranked in the nation's top-40, the Crimson relied heavily on its depth last weekend. Juniors John Tolmie and Derek Brown and freshman Ian Williams all went undefeated against Navy and West Virginia. The 6'9" Williams, taller than every member of Harvard's basketball team, looked especially impressive with his net play, something he has been steadily improving over the course of the year.

"We went into last weekend confident that we were a better team," Tolmie said. "We have been working harder, and the rematch against West Virginia was a strong motivation to do so."

Harvard only lost two games to the Mountaineers, both in singles competition. Zimmerman fell in straight sets to West Virginia's 6'6" Mike Booras, 7-6, 6-4. Filling Harvard's number-three singles spot was Mike Shyjan, who lost a rollercoaster three set game, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4. At one point in the third set, Shyjan was up, 3-0, before losing his momentum. Inclement weather forced the match indoors, which translated into a slight advantage for the Mountaineers and their bigserve style.

Chang was the only member of Harvard's top three singles players to have any success against West Virginia's fastballs. The 22ndranked Chang slapped back nearly every first serve Mountaineer Ron Mercer offered and won in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4.

"The difference between this year and last year is that we are consistently getting more wins from our top three players, and the middle of our team has improved greatly," Chang said.

It Takes Two

The doubles tandem of Shyjan and Zimmerman is one of the consistencies Chang speaks of. Ranked as high as third in the nation this season, Shyjan and Zimmerman haven't lost a match all year. Surprisingly, their ranking is slowly slipping.

"The rankings have been unpredictable, to say the least," Chang said. "At one point, I moved from 21st to 41st and back to 22nd while having a pretty consistent record."

Even if Harvard wins the rest of its matches, rankings will be important in determining singles's and doubles's seedings. The coaches of Dartmouth, West Virginia, Yale and Princeton are the voting members who determine the final rankings. With this lineup, Harvard singles and doubles players would do well to make their mark on the court in the final weeks of regular season action.