M. Tennis Beats Army Badly, 7-0

It's a brand new season for the Harvard men's tennis team, which earned a spot in the four-team NCAA East Regional tournament by beating Army 7-0 Saturday at the sunlit Beren Tennis Center.

The Crimson (20-7 overall, 8-2 Ivy League), which has been missing its top three singles players for most of the spring season, hopes to get some players back in the line-up for the (May 14-15) tournament in order advance to the NCAA Championships on May 21-29.

"Hopefully we'll get some guys back in the line-up," sophomore Howard Kim said. "If we're healthy and rested we're pretty tough to beat."

On Saturday, though, even a wounded Crimson squad was too tough for the Cadets.

The Crimson began the afternoon with a sweep of the three doubles matches.

Winning at first doubles were captain Marshall Burroughs and freshman Mitty Arnold, 8-5. The second doubles tandem of Kim and sophomore Daniel Chung squeaked by with a 9-8 (7-1) win.

And the third doubles contest saw the return of Crimson senior doubles specialist Adam Meister to the starting line-up. Meister, who had been sidelined with a shoulder injury, teamed up with freshman Josh Hausman to manhandle their West Point counterparts, 8-0.

"Our doubles teams as a whole have gotten stronger," Hausman said. "Earlier we had been dropping the doubles point but lately we're getting it."

The singles matches provided some exciting, hand-wringing moments, as both the first and second singles matches went three sets.

At first singles, Chung took the third set, 6-2, after splitting the first two sets, 6-4, 2-6. In the second singles several match points in the third set before winning in the tie-breaker, 8-6. Arnold had dropped the first set, 3-6, and had won the second set, 6-3.

The other netters had a slightly easier go at it in singles action. Kim won at number-three singles, 6-1, 6-3.

Freshman Martin Olsson won an abbreviated match at fourth singles as his opponent, having lost the first set, retired a game into the second set.

Hausman won fifth singles, 7-5, 6-4, and sophomore Adam Valkin took sixth singles, 6-4, 6-2.

Missing from the singles line-up for the second consecutive match was captain Burroughs, who is being rested as precautionary measure.

Looking ahead to the regional tournament, the Crimson expects Burroughs to be completely healthy and it also expects the return of junior Andrew Rueb, at lest in some capacity.

It is safe to conjecture, though, that Harvard will be without the services of sophomore Rolex Champion Todd Meringoff, who aggravated a groin injury earlier this week.

Although the tournament competitors have not been officially named, it appears that Columbia, Princeton, Harvard and Dartmouth will get the nod.

Potential tournament contender West Virginia had its tennis program suspended earlier this week due to NCAA rules infractions, and the Mountaineers' departure opens up a spot for Dartmouth.

The Crimson beat Princeton and Dartmouth earlier in the season, but dropped a 4-3 decision to Columbia in New York City three weeks ago.

"If we play Princeton or Dartmouth," Burroughs said, "we'll be confident because we have already beaten them. If we play Columbia it'll be on our courts--not the clay courts indoors at Columbia--and we'll see it as a way to get revenge."

The tournament will be second season for the injury-plagued Crimson team--another chance to prove that it is the best team in the EITA, even without some top players. By all indications the Crimson has a good chance of doing that.