Netmen Capture Ivy Title

For a brief moment it appeared as though the Harvard men's tennis team had traveled to Princeton, N.J., just to be embarrassed.

But after a sluggish start, the Crimson rallied in time to defeat Princeton, 7-2, and capture its third straight Ivy League title. Harvard's victory over Princeton guarantees the Crimson a post-season trip to Athens, Ga., for the NCAA Tournament, which begins on May 17.

In addition to finishing as the only undefeated team in the Ivies, Harvard ended the season a perfect 10-0 in the EITA, capturing the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association title for the second time in three years.

Even more amazing than all of Harvard's accolades is the fact that the Crimson won despite the absence of Co-Captain Michael Shyjan. Shyjan, who plays number-three singles and number-one doubles with Co-captain Michael Zimmerman, sustained a knee injury over the weekend, and is excepted to return to the line-up in time for the NCAAs.

The loss of Shyjan hurt the Crimson, but Harvard had an especially poor opening on Wednesday. The Crimson was certainly nervous--both an Ivy League title and an NCAA bid hinged on this match against the Tigers. Believe it or not, Harvard (17-5 overall, 7-0 Ivy) does not have a strong enough overall record to guarantee an at-large bid to the NCAA tourney.

"The 7-2 score looks lopsided," Harvard Coach Dave Fish said. "Nearly every singles match went into three sets, and in a couple of instances, we were down service breaks in the second set."

When Harvard arrived, Princeton (15-5 overall, 8-2 EITA, 6-1 Ivy) correctly thought that it would have to score a major upset to win the match. The Crimson was expected to win. After all, Harvard had defeated EITA powerhouse West Virginia, 7-2, earlier in the season while the Tigers had lost to the Mountaineers, 5-4. And last year, the Crimson beat Princeton, 8-1, to win the Ivy League championship.

A half hour before the match, Princeton had little hope and no idea that Shyjan was injured. Fish had Shyjan warm up with the other players, and Princeton lacked enthusiasm. But when Fish finally submitted his line-up card, Princeton came alive.

Fortunately, Harvard was only stunned for a short while. After losing the first set, 6-0, the Crimson's number-six singles player Marshall Burroughs ignited Harvard's comeback. Burroughs found himself down 5-2 in the second set, and behind 40-0 in the game. Princeton's Tom Orvald had two chances to close out the game and the match, but Burroughs rallied in amazing fashion to beat Orvald, 7-6, 6-3.

"Burroughs' victory was an inspiration to the entire team," Fish said. "After he won, everyone seemed to play a little more aggressively."

Harvard's number-three singles player Ian Williams was the only one to post straight set victories over his opponent. Williams over-powered Princeton Captain Greg Finck, 6-2, 6-0.

The number-one doubles tandem of Shyjan and Zimmerman, ranked 12th in the country, is certainly one of Harvard's greatest assets and was sorely missed on Wednesday. Shyjan's and Zimmerman's success this year has earned them a spot in the NCAA doubles tournament, in addition to the Crimson's bid as a team.

"I moved Zimmerman to number-two singles because he has been a little sore," Fish said. "Princeton sensed a weakness and went for it, and Zimmerman somehow found ways to pick apart his opponent."