Men's Tennis Finishes Strong

After coming off a disheartening 4-3 loss to Dartmouth earlier this week, the Harvard men's tennis team recouped to end its regular season with two solid wins this weekend.

That was really great.

The Crimson dominated all weekend, annihilating Cornell, 6-1, and wiping clean Army, 7-0.

That was pretty swell.

With its authoritative victories, Harvard secured a piece of the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association title. The Crimson finished the year with a 14-7 record overall, 8-1 in the EITA.

And that was, well, nice.

But for the Crimson, inarguably one of the best teams in Region I, there's still something missing, and Harvard doesn't think it should be over quite yet.

Pending the decision of a committee of six Eastern collegiate coaches, Harvard is now waiting to acquire a bid for the NCAA Championships--to be held May 14-22 in Atlanta.

"As a team we ended up finishing strong," said junior Marshall Burroughs, who dropped only four games in both his singles matches this weekend. "I'd be really surprised if we didn't get the bid."

Rueb, Wallooppillal In

Two team members have already received bids to the NCAA individual tournament, which is held concurrently with the team tournament.

Sophomore Andrew Rueb--who finished the season with a 12-5 overall record--will be competing in the singles draw, and the duo of Rueb and sophomore Umesha Wallooppillai--currently the 21st doubles team in the nation--is in the doubles draw.

Still, Harvard feels its team performance merits an invitation as well.

"For a variety of reasons, we feel we deserve the bid," Rueb said.

The Crimson had "a flawless fall," Assistant Coach Greg Russell said. Harvard won the ECAC tournament in October and saw freshman Todd Meringoff win the Rolex National Indoor Intercollegiate Tennis Championship earlier this season.

Harvard also finished in a three-way tie for first place with Yale and Dartmouth in the FITA, which consists of Army, Navy and the eight Ivy League teams.

But although the Crimson fell by the narrowest of margins to the Big Green, it massacred Yale, 7-0, earlier this spring.

Arguing by Committee

Harvard coaches Dave Fish and Russell will present their argument to the committee, which includes Fish and coaches from Dartmouth, Brown, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Navy.

"It's been a long season, but now we're ready to gear up for NCAAs," Rueb said. "It doesn't feel like we've wrapped things up yet."

But even if the committee denies Harvard an invitation to NCAAs, however, the Crimson is pleased with its auspicious finish.

Although Cornell and Army did not prove to be two of the more competitive teams in the East this season, Harvard dictated every moment of both matches.

"We came out strong and focused," said Kim, who secured two straight-set victories at the sixth singles spot.

"It's dangerous playing teams that are just OK," said Rueb, who represents the Crimson at first singles. "We did a good job of focusing and not just falling asleep. The team scores kind of say it all."

Still, nothing will feel complete until the Crimson hears from the committee. And if Harvard does obtain the invitation, you can bet that their season is far from over.

"We're just hopeful of getting an NCAA bid. We feel we deserve it," Fish said. We'll just have to wait with our fingers crossed."

"We're absolutely praying for it," Rueb said.