M. Tennis Wins Big In Ithaca

This past weekend may have been the last hurrah for summer weather, and the Harvard men's tennis team ushered it out in style.

The team crushed all opponents at the Cornell Invitational in Ithaca, New York, in a two-day meet featuring Cornell, Army, Navy, Boston College and St. John's.

"Things really went well for us," junior Ajay Mathur said.

"Well" is an understatement.

The tournament featured six groupings of players: A, B, C and D singles, and A and B doubles. Harvard won five of the six categories, dropping only the A doubles title.

Freshman Tom Blake cruised to victory in the A singles flight, not dropping a set over the four matches he played to win the title.

Also joining him in the "Shutout Club" was Mathur, who won every set he played in the C singles flight. Mathur's dominance continued unabated into the final, where he won 6-2, 6-1.

Another freshman, Jose Hernandez-Ore, made his mark in the D singles flight, winning the group in a gutsy three-hour championship by a score of 5-7, 7-6, 7-5.

Things weren't as easy for Harvard as the outcome might indicate, however.

Each player who made the finals of his flight was faced with the difficulty of having to play four matches in the two-day period, Saturday and Sunday. Usually the meets start on Fridays and end on Sundays.

"By the second day, we were all really sore," Mathur said. "But the second day is a mental day anyway."

Most importantly, the tremendous showing left the team with confidence going into the Rolex Tournament which starts tomorrow at Princeton.

The Rolex Tournament is the climax of the fall tennis season.

"We wanted to get match tough for the Rolex," Mathur said. "Overall, we feel great about our chances in the Rolex."