M. Tennis Stymied Again by Princeton

When the 1993-1994 season came to end for the Harvard men's tennis team, the players were left with a bad taste in their mouths--a taste that resulted from a 5-2 loss to Princeton in the semifinals of the 1994 NCAA Region I Championships.

The Crimson (17-7 overall, 9-0 EITA) took to the courts with a vengeance in 1994-1995, looking for revenge over its Ivy League nemesis. Yet as the season came to an unfortunate end, the Crimson again left the courts with the same bad taste in its mouth.

The Tigers once again spoiled the Crimson's run. Princeton eliminated Harvard from the first round of 1995 NCAA Region I Championships in a 4-3 upset.

Nevertheless, the Crimson did get revenge over the Tigers and the rest of its Eastern competition during the regular season. The Crimson dominated the Eastern region throughout both the fall and the spring seasons.

The Crimson's successful defense of ECAC Tournament championship signaled the beginning of Harvard's dominance. At the tournament. Harvard knocked off Princeton, 5-2, in the final round--a decisive win and the Crimson's first taste of revenge against the Tigers in 1994-1995.

Entering the spring season, the Crimson knew that its squad was loaded with potential and talent. With the return of captain Andrew Rueb, who sat out last year with a knee injury, and the addition of two powerful freshmen, Philip Tseng and Thomas Blake, expectations and aspirations ran high.

In early March, after reaching the finals of he Corpus Christi Invitational, Texas Christian handed the Crimson its first defeat, 4-3.

The losing continued on the team's California spring break trip; the Crimson lost five straight matches. But the losing streak was constructive: the losses--to highly acclaimed programs such as UCLA, Southern California and South Alabama--served as a mid-season wake-up call.

After returning to the comforts of Harvard, the Crimson built on the California experience, sweeping through the Eastern region without losing a match until the tournament. Harvard topped Princeton, 4-3, and won four of its last five league matches by 7-0 scores.

With these victories, the Crimson took the EITA title for the first time since the 1993 season, when Harvard shared the honors with Dartmouth and Yale. Harvard's 9-0 record marks its first undefeated season since 1992.

Besides winning team recognition with its EITA championship, Harvard players also racked up prestigious EITA honors.

In his final campaign with the Crimson, Rueb put together a spectacular comeback season. The senior first-singles players finished the year 6-0 in regular season EITA competition. The EITA honored Rueb with both Players of the Year and Senior of the Year honors.

The senior was also chosen as a member of the All-EITA first team singles and first team doubles, with his partner, sophomore Mitty Arnold.

Tseng (8-0 in the EITA regular season) was awarded EITA Rookie of the Year honors. He was also chosen to the All-EITA first team for singles. Blake, also in his first season with the Crimson, was selected as an All-EITA second team singles member.

Although the Crimson may still have an unpleasant taste in its mouth as a result of its loss to Princeton at the NCAA regional championships, the players feel the effort throughout the year overshadows this loss.

Tseng summarizes the entire team's sentiments: "We're still Eastern Champions, and nobody can take that away from us."