Meringoff Plays at Rolex Tourney

Freshman Todd Meringoff, the Harvard men's tennis team's top player, competed at the Rolex National Indoor Tennis Championships in Minneapolis over the weekend. Meringoff, one of only two freshmen at the tournament, full 6-1, 6-0 to fifth-ranked Tamer El Sawy of Louisiana State.

Meringoff, ranked 22nd in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), earned his berth in the prestigious tournament by winning the Rolex Eastern Regional Singles title in December.

But Meringoff's relative lack of inexperience burt him in his duel with E1 Sawy.

"He has a very aggressive style of play and the scores of the match don't indicate how close it really was," Assistant Varsity Coach Gregg Russell said. "There were a lot of close points and he just wasn't able to convert them."

Meringoff was able to adjust his game in the consolation round, but he still full 6-4, 6-0 to ninth-ranked Frank Schaffner of Alabama-Birmingham in the first round of the consolation bracket.

"His second game was a big improvement and he was able to convert more of the close points," Russell said.