Tennis Teams Win; Season Starts Well

Last year, the men's tennis team finished 19th nationally, and the women's team finished in the top 40. Although both have lost several seniors, this year's squads show even more promise.

Rigorous practices have thus far proven effective; both teams have demonstrated their prowess in their respective divisions.

The men's team tore it up this weekend at the Yale Invitational and sent two players to the National Clay Court Championships in Baltimore, while the woman's team held their own at the Harvard Invitational.

Men Show Potential

Last year's team finished the season with a flourish, and this year's squad has already elicited enough excitement to raise team expectations.

"We have all the groundwork once again," Harvard coach David Fish said. "One of our primary goals at this point is to have another terrific year, to show that's it's a consistent standard."

This weekend's tournaments at Yale and at Baltimore served as evidence as to why the team should be regarded as one to be reckoned with, not only among its Ivy League competitors, but also among the top teams in the country.

At the Yale Invitational, a tournament comprised of four singles draws and two doubles draws, Harvard did not lose a match in the first day of play.

The men boarded the bus home having won three of the six draws and having reached the finals five times.

According to assistant coach Peter Mandeau, freshman Joe Green delivered the most outstanding performance of the tournament, capturing the B Singles championship against his Harvard counterpart, Brendon Bethea, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2.

"His performance in his first NCAA outing was even better than we anticipated," Mandeau said. "He found a way to win--that's what makes a really great competitor."

In the D Singles draw, junior Jose Hernandez-Ore had no problem disposing of his first two opponents, from Providence College and Boston College, respectively. In the semi-finals, against Kushal Malhotra from Brown, Hernandez-Ore faced his first test.

With his teammates either out on the courts or cheering on other Crimson players, Hernandez-Ore had little support while his competitor had a contingency at least fifteen strong behind its man.

"He [Hernandez-Ore] was out there pumping himself up," Mandeau said. "He was his own crowd."

Showing that his strength lies in overcoming adversity, Hernandez-Ore pulled out the match, winning in a third-set tiebreaker.

The third superb performance was turned in by sophomore sensation Kunj Majmudar, a key player from last year's squad.

After forcing his first two opponents to retire due to exhaustion, Majmudar faced Fazel Syed, last year's Harvard Invitational champion, in the semi-finals.

One convincing victory later, he was in the finals, where he was put up against Jonathan Beardsley, Yale's number one player.

Although Majmudar took the first set 6-2, he struggled with his serve during the next two sets, losing the second set 5-7 and the third 1-6.

In the team's other tournament, the National Clay Court Championships in Baltimore, to which juniors Tom Blake and Phillip Tseng were invited, each came away having learned much from the experience.

Blake disposed of his first opponent in three sets before facing the number four seed in the tournament, Enrique Abaroa from Kansas. Abaroa proved to be too much for the powerful junior from Fairfield Connecticut, winning the match, 6-4, 6-3.

"He just had more tools," Fish said. "Now Tommy knows what to work on."

Tseng, who finished last year in great form, also was put up against some intense competition, facing seventh seed Matt Ballay in the first round. He lost the match but made it up in the consolation round, where he was on top of his game.

His penetrating backhand allowed him to dictate from the baseline, as he won the first match, 6-0, 6-1. But the number one player from Duke turned it around on him in the next round, winning with ease, 1-6, 2-6.

Both coaches are very pleased with the team in the first weekend of play. However, they are wary not to be overly excited.

"Nobody gets terribly bent out of shape about results now, except for the players," Fish said.

"How they come together as a team is impossible to tell at this point in the season," Mandeau added.

At this point, things are looking up for the Crimson, which heads to Chapel Hill, N.C. this weekend.

Women Hoping to Improve

Losing only two seniors from last year's squad, the team's number five and six players, the women are looking to improve upon last year's finish in the top 40 in the nation.

"I don't think they were huge losses," senior Gina Majmudar said. "The freshman so far are doing better than just replacing them."

In fact, freshman Vedica Jain delivered the team's most promising performance in the Harvard Invitational, taking the championship in the B Singles draw. Jain won in straight sets in every match along the way, finishing with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Leela Raju from Brown in the finals.

In her doubles draw, Jain, along with partner Julia Kim, advanced to the consolation finals. In the finals, which determined the third-place finisher, Jain and Kim made a remarkable comeback. After being down 1-6 in the third-set tie-breaker, they pulled off five consecutive points and toughed it out to win 9-7.

This, according to Majmudar, was the most clutch performance in the entire tournament.

Majmudar herself had a fine weekend, winning in the quarterfinals in a tight three-setter after a first round bye and finishing fourth in the A Singles draw.

The team played this tournament without the help of two of its top players. Ivy Wang competed in the National Clay Courts Championship in Baltimore and Rosemarie She was unable to play because of an ailing back. However, She's injury does not appear to be serious, so the team will be complete for its next match--the ECAC Championships at Yale on October 11.