Netmen Win 7th Straight Crown

In the third set of his match this weekend in the finals of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tennis championships in Princeton, N.J., junior Umesha Wallooppillai aggravated a back injury and could not continue.

By that point, Harvard led Princeton 4-1 and had already sealed up a team victory and a seventh-straight ECAC title. Wallooppillai's injury stopped the finals, and the rest of the Crimson did what it probably could have done even before the tournament had started--claim the prize and go home. Harvard swept through all of its contests this weekend, dropping just two matches in the tournament and proving the futility of holding the competition at all.

Despite a lineup fraught with injuries, the Crimson could not be beaten as a team. Although number one singles player junior Andrew Rueb didn't play at all and captain Marshall Burroughs and Walloppillai played injured, the Crimson dominated its opponents.

"We had a lot of injuries going into the tournament," Burroughs said. "In a way, not playing with our full lineup psyched us up."

Harvard dispatched Providence and Pennsylvania (7-0) easily in the first rounds and sent George Washington home 6-1 in the semifinals. Princeton succumbed next to the Harvard wave, but Wallooppillai's injury prevented the Crimson from inflicting full damage on the Tigers.

Harvard's victory means it gets to compete in the National Indoor Tournament in February, when it will face some tougher squads.

"At the National Indoors, it'll be another level of competition," Burroughs said. "All the teams we play will be in the top 20."

Burroughs and the rest of the team, however, are confident about the Crimson's chances in the winter. This year's squad only lost one senior to graduation and showed its depth this weekend.