W. Tennis Mixes Youth and Experience

The Harvard women's tennis team arrived in Cambridge this week determined to make last year--a season marred by team controversies and unexpected losses--a faint and distant memory.

With a squad packed with talent and confidence, that could be just one of many accomplishments for the Crimson this year.

"I expect to win the Ivies," Coach Gordon Graham said. "But we are setting our goals even higher this fall. We think that we can be the top ranked team in the East."

After a successful off-season in which the Crimson brought in four new players, Harvard seems to have that perfect mix of youth and experience, of talent and role players.

Leading the charges for the newcomers is transfer student Jill Brenner, who came to Harvard from Florida.

Brenner was ranked 23rd in the country last year and could battle for the number one spot on the squad.

In addition to Brenner, Graham enticed three freshmen, Gena Majmudar, Maryla Madura, and Jennifer Rhodes, to join the ranks.

"Those four players are all great additions to the team," Graham said. "We expect them to make some major contributions."

The four new hired guns will fit in nicely into a solid group of returning starters. Last year's star freshmen Kate Roiter and Kelly Granat, one and three seeds respectively, are back and ready.

Coach Graham also said the team is very deep this year. Senior Alegra Fitzgibbons, who Graham said is one of the most improved players this year, juniors Katie Hatch and Kendra Harris, and sophomore Erika Chang bolster the talented Crimson lineup.