M. Tennis Wins Fifth Straight Ivy Title

With the No. 17 ranking in the country and the nation's best player, the Harvard men's tennis team probably had an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament locked up.

But why risk a vote?

The Crimson (19-4, 6-0 Ivy) continued its dominance of the Ivy League this weekend, clinching the division championship by beating Brown 7-0 on Friday and Yale 6-1yesterday at the Murr Center.

The title, Harvard's 10th in the last 11 years and fifth straight, carries an automatic NCAA bid. The wins also extend its home-winning streak to 36 matches.

"Basically, I think we kind of expected to win the Ivy title this year," co-captain Mike Passarella said. "Its still nice to finally wrap that up."

Only junior John Doran dropped a singles match this weekend, and the Crimson swept all six doubles matches despite playing again without ill co-captain Kunj Majmudar and sophomore Andrew Styperek.

Harvard had more difficulty with the gusty winds yesterday at Barnaby Courts than with Yale.

The actual Ivy clincher came in the third singles match of the day, with Harvard already ahead 3-0.

In dominant fashion fitting for Harvard's Ivy season, freshman William Lee blew out Eli freshman Gabe Goldstein, 6-2, 6-0, despite playing one slot ahead of his usual No. 6.

"[Lee] has not seen much action under pressure," Assistant Coach Peter Mandeau said. "We put him at No. 5 to give him some experience, and William stepped up."

The doubles teams set the pace for the Crimson yesterday as junior Joe Green and sophomore Scott Clark, playing in the No. 3 slot, opened the match with an 8-5 win.

Sophomore James Blake, the nation's No.1 player, then paired up with fellow sophomore Mike Rich for the first time ever.

Rich, who has not seen much varsity action this year, rose to the occasion in the tiebreaker. He kept the Elis off balance with his serve, allowing Blake to slam home the winners. The pair won 9-8.

Rich was the second new partner for Blake on the weekend as Blake teamed with sophomore Anthony Barker in an 8-5 win against Brown.

"Normally, it's just hard to come in and play with James," Passarella said. "You think, 'O God, don't let me screw things up.' Both guys were real aggressive and fit in nicely."

Doran and Passarella closed out the doubles with another 9-8 squeaker.

No. 6 Clark then inaugurated singles competition with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Scott Mayo. He was followed by Blake, who quickly dispatched senior Jonathan Beardsley, 6-1, 6-4.

Lee then made the rest of the match academic with his win over Goldstein. That neutralized most of the forthcoming sting of No. 2 Doran's 7-6, 6-2 loss to Steve Burke. The loss snapped Doran's 13-game personal winning streak.

"The streak had to go sometime," Mandeau said. "The first set went to a tiebreaker, and sometimes you just run into a player better than you on a particular day."

Any lingering regret caused by Doran's loss was erased by Passarella's 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win at No. 4 over Scott Carlton. Passarella had been struggling earlier in the year, losing six matches in a row at one point.

The win, combined with a three-set victory against Phil Cheung of Brown, gives him six straight wins, and his game appears back on track in time for the NCAA tournament.

"[Passarella] looks much stronger now," Mandeau said. "He's recovered his feel for the ball and timing of his hits. He had stumbled a little early on."

Green swept Greg Royce in the final match.

Friday's 7-0 win against Brown surprised no one. In the 64 times these schools have competed through the ages, the Bears have emerged victorious only once.

"Brown has not been one of the stronger teams this year," Mandeau said. "They are a young team, very aggressive, but at this point we have too much firepower."

Passarella and Doran displayed that power in the third doubles slot, blanking Kevin Chew and Andrew McFarlane 8-0.

In singles play, Blake, Doran, Green, and Lee--then playing No. 6--each won in straight sets. Only Passarella and Clark needed a third set in their singles victories. Clark's match went to a tiebreaker in the final set, and he won 6-3, 4-6, 7-6.

"My first set against Brown was great," Passarella said. "I kind of lost my concentration and let the guy back in the match."

Harvard concludes its Ancient Eight schedule Wednesday at Dartmouth in an attempt to cap a perfect league season. The game doesn't matter standings-wise, because all the other Ivy teams have at least two losses.

Still, in Harvard's mind, the Ivy trophy is already collecting dust. After Dartmouth, the Crimson will prepare for NCAA regional competition for two-and-a-half weeks.

By then, the team expects Majmudar to have recovered enough from his maladies to play, restoring his partnership with Blake--the No. 2 ranked tandem in the nation.

"Dartmouth courts are always pretty crazy, as it's a big frat thing to come out and watch," Passarella said. "We'll then get a nice break during reading period in which we'll be able to practice a lot."