First-Place Netwomen Dominate Cornell, 7-2

"You will come to a place where the only thing that you feel are loaded guns in your face, and you have to handle pressure." Billy Joel

The Harvard women's tennis team (10-5 overall, 6-0 Ivy) lives and breathes similar thoughts, following the Crimson's 7-2 destruction of Cornell Friday at the Cornell Tennis Center in Ithaca, N.Y.

Harvard's win now thrusts the Crimson into position to seize sole possession of the Ivy title, as Harvard hunts down Princeton (5-1 Ivy) today in Princeton, N.J.

But Harvard nearly spoiled its front-running position against cellardweller Cornell. The Crimson had strutted into upstate New York figuring on blanking the league's perennial pasty.

The Big Red had other plans.

Cornell's Jen Kenas and Judy Beckenbach kicked off the contest by dropping only two games to Tricia Small and double fault-plagued Jen Minkus at second doubles.

Amy deLone's deep serves and Jamie Henikoff's pounding volleys helped the Crimson rebound from its early deficit, shooting past Jennifer Demsey and Dolly Chugh.

The Big Red's Lisa Kay followed by eliminating the Crimson's Heather Chulock in straight sets at sixth singles to give Cornell the advantage again, 2-1.

"We were playing scared, playing not to lose," Harvard Coach Ed Krass said. "It was nerve-racking in the beginning, watching them take the lead for two hours. It looked like they were going to take us. Finally, we turned the momentum in third doubles."

Harvard's freshman connection of Melinda Wang and Erika Elmuts clocked Cornell's Chris McKenna and Amsley Hossner in a three-setter at third doubles to knot the match.

Me So Hungry

Harvard rolled into singles play, despite smarting from the absences of top-seeded Cristina Dragomirescu Crimsom, 7-2 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Singles Matches

1. Amy deLone (HARVARD) d. Jen Kenas (Cornell). 6-4, 6-0; 2. Jamie Henikoff (HARVARD) d. Jennifer Demsey (Cornell), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; 3. Jen Minkus (HARVARD) d. Dolly Chugh (Cornell), 6-3, 6-2; 4. Tricia Small (HARVARD) d. Judy Beckenbach (Cornell), 6-7, 6-4, 7-5; 5. Melinda Wang (HARVARD) d. Siema Shah (Cornell), 6-1, 6-2, 6. Lisa Kay (Cornell)d. Heather Chulock (HARVARD), 6-3, 6-2.

Double Matches

1. deLone/Henikoff (HARVARD) d. Demsey/Chugh (Cornell), 6-1, 6-1, 2. Kenas/Beckenbach (Cornell) d. Small/Minkus (HARVARD), 6-2, 6-0; 3. Wang/Erika Elmuts (HARVARD) d. Amsley Hossner/Chris McKenna (Cornell), 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. and fourth-seeded Co-Captain Nicole Rival.

"We definitely didn't want to lose the Ivytitle," Krass said. "I breathed a little easierwhen [deLone] started winning in her first set."

DeLone diced Kenas, 6-4, 6-0, at first singlesto give the Crimson their first lead of the game.

Harvard never looked back.

Henikoff recouped from a second-set struggle todump Demsey at second singles in straight sets andup the Harvard advantage to 4-2.

Melinda Wang followed suit in fifth singles,smashing Siema Shah to clinch the match.

Small overcame a first-set deficit in fourthsingles to blast Beckenbach, and Minkus defeatedChugh in third singles to provide the final count.

THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson charges intotoday's match against Princeton hoping to avertsharing the Ivy title for the second consecutiveyear