W. Tennis Blanks Dartmouth

Whatever a man can do, a woman can do better. Dortmouth  0 Harvard  7

The Harvard women's tennis team took it upon themselves to prove the adage yesterday afternoon at Beren Tennis Center, blanking Dartmouth 7-0 to capture its first Ivy League championship since 1992.

The win came less than 24 hours after the Harvard men's tennis team captured the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association crown with win over Dartmouth, albeit by a narrower 6-1 margin.

The women's squad capped its perfect 7-0 Ivy League record by sweeping the six singles matches and winning two of the three doubles matches to capture the doubles team point.

The Big Green, which had beaten the Crimson last year, came in with a 5-1 Ivy mark and was looking for a share of the Ivy League crown. The netwomen, however, were not interested in cooperating.

"The loss to Dartmouth was our most disappointing last year," sophomore Gina Majmudar said. "We definitely didn't want to share the Ivy title, especially not with them."

The opening doubles matches provided some of the closest competition on the day, with two of the three prosets going to a tie-breaker.

At third doubles, freshmen Gabriela Hricko and Julia Kim came from behind to capture their match in the tie-breaker.

"We came out flat and got frustrated with ourselves in the beginning," Kim said. "After we were down 5-2 we both settled down."

Although junior co-captains Kelly Granat and Kate Roiter dropped their first doubles match in a tie-breaker, the Crimson was able to salvage the doubles point by virtue of Majmudar's and freshman Mylin Torres' 8-5 win at second doubles.

In the singles matches, however, the Crimson put to rest any doubts about Ivy League women's tennis supremacy.

Harvard took care of business quickly, clinching the victory with wins by Granat, Hricko, and Torres at fifth, third, and second singles, respectively--each in straight sets.

Things proved slightly more difficult at fourth singles where Roiter had to come from behind in both sets to win, 6-4, 7-5.

At sixth singles, sophomore Maryla Madura held off a determined comeback bid by Dartmouth's Katie Krikmire and won, 6-0, 7-5.

Majmudar clinched Harvard's sweep at first singles with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Dartmouth's Debbie Healy.

"I lost to her last year, and that was my only Ivy loss," Majmudar said. "She's a senior now so I knew this was my last chance to beat her."

The netwomen's sweep of the Big Green capped an outstanding two days for the Harvard tennis program, with both teams convincingly capturing their league titles.

"It's neat that both teams are going to be champions," Roiter said. "That doesn't happen often in Harvard sports so it's real exciting."