Netwomen Trounce Terriers, 7-0

It may have been cold and windy through the rest of Cambridge Wednesday afternoon, but within the tree-walled confines of the Beren Tennis Center, the Harvard women's tennis team was smokin'.

In its first dual match of the season the Crimson soundly put away a previously undefeated squad from Boston University, winning 7-0.

"It was really encouraging for us to beat one of the more respected teams in the east," said junior co-captain Kelly Granat. "It should send a message to our competition."

The Crimson (1-0) swept the singles positions and took two of the three doubles pro-sets to earn the doubles point.

Harvard opened with a win at third doubles as Granat teamed up with freshman Gabriela Hricko to win 8-3.

"They were pretty dominant," head coach Gordon Graham said. "They were playing a very experienced team but they had everything under control from the start."

Harvard went on to clinch the doubles point with a come-from-behind victory at second doubles by sophomore Gina Majmudar and freshman Mylin Torres.

Down 4-1 in the eight-game proset, the duo stormed back to take the contest 8-6.

"It was my first college match so I was really nervous in the beginning," Torres said. "But Gina calmed me down and I played better."

Torres' youthful nerves seemed to affect her at the start of her second singles match, as well. After dropping the first set 6-1, she regained her composure and put away her opponent 7-5, 6-2 in the last two sets.

"I was going for too much, too soon, on a lot of my shots in the beginning," Torres said. "Kate [junior co-captain, Kate Roiter] told me to keep the ball in play more and I started to win the points."

At first singles Majmudar also got behind early, dropping the first set 7-5. The next two set played out differently, though, with Majmudar sweeping them 6-2, 6-2.

"It took me a while to get started," Majmudar said. "Then I just started playing better. I didn't want to be the only one to lose."

"Gina really took control of the match after the first set," Graham said. "She just picked it up a notch."

The third singles match also went three sets, with Harvard's sophomore Rona Mayer prevailing, 7-6, 2-6, 6-4.

With the first three singles positions lasting three-sets each, the outcome of the match was long in doubt.

"It was very close," Graham said. "About as close as a 7-0 win could be."

The clinching points were earned at fourth, fifth and sixth single, which the Crimson won in straight sets.

Fourth singles player, Hricko, sank her Terrier opponent 6-2, 6-1 in her collegiate dual-match debut. And freshman Julia Kim followed suit at sixth singles with a 6-3, 6-1 win.

At fourth singles Granat won the first set in a tie-breaker and closed out her opponent 6-2 in the second set.

"To win 7-0 against BU really helps us a lot," Majmudar said. "Especially with the ITAs coming up."

The 7-0 win also gave a glimpse as to how the Crimson has improved over last year.

Twice last year Harvard beat BU by 5-4 scores, with each contest coming down to the final match.

Wednesday, with the Terriers featuring an almost identical line-up as last, the talent-laden Crimson squad left a much larger margin for error.

While three matches did go three sets, the Crimson's winning each of them, even after the win was clinched, gives some insight into the determination of the netwomen.

"We really have a bunch of good competitors," Graham said. "They showed a lot going for every win."

Also, the Crimson played the match without junior co-captain Kate Roiter, who was sidelined with a sore hamstring.

Harvard next plays October 14-16 in the ITA Regional Team Championships, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament next spring. Harvard  7 Boston U.  0