Netwomen Still Undefeated in Ivies

The Big Three-Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.

Women's tennis is no exception. This year again the Big Three have dominated the Ivy League and the rest of the Northeast.

Harvard remains undefeated in both the Ivies (2-0) and the Northeast (5-0), while Princeton (5-1) and Yale (13-2) have posted similarly impressive records.

Princeton's win over Yale last week makes the Tigers clear favorites for the Ivy crown, but the Crimson will have its chance to down the Jerseyites at home on May 4. And today it will get a chance to pad its record in Providence against a weak (1-3 in the Ivies) Brown squad.

Harvard's netwomen have flourished this year, but their success has come as no surprise to either coach or players, despite the fact that the team is a young one.

The sophomore contingent on the team has been instrumental in the team's success. Four of the starters, not to mention the coach, are in their second year at Harvard.

The obvious standout has been Mather House's Elizabeth Evans, the Crimson's top singles player. Evans has upheld the national reputation she gained in grade school with impressive wins over all of her Ivy opponents as well as the top players at U.C-Santa Barbara and U.C-Irvine.

Evans finished her illustrious junior career last summer with a number 24 singles ranking in the national 18s. She has notched wins over Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger, and she continues to show the promise of her younger days.

Evans almost never made it to Harvard, "I accepted early from Stanford and was all set to go," she notes. "About a month later I found out that I got into Harvard. My parents didn't want me to go and it was so far away. But I decided I needed a change. It had nothing to do with tennis."

It's Been Real

Since coming to Harvard, Evans' tennis has improved dramatically, and she has found a lot of "really, really close friends" on the team.

For Evans, the spring trip to California was key to the team's maturing as a whole. "It was tough, but we were psyched and we were happy. The weather was warm, and a bunch of parents came to the matches, which definitely made us play better," she said.

A native of Newton, Debbie Kaufman has been the behind-the-scenes superstar of this year's squad. As captain of the team Kaufman has had to deal with a lot more than her over-head, and she has filled her position admirably.

"Debbie has done a great job for the team. A large degree of their success is due to her efforts," head coach Don Usher said of his number live singles player.

Kaufman played in junior tournaments throughout her high school career, and in her last year in the 18s she was ranked fourth in singles and first in doubles in New England.

Despite her success as a junior, Kaufman had other things than tennis in mind when she applied to colleges. "I was looking for academics, and the tennis wasn't a big factor," she said.

Tennis at Harvard has been an added bonus for Kaufman, and she maintains her dedication to the sport. "I feel very committed to the program. It has a lot of potential," she added.

Deanne Loonin was a late starter by tennis standards. She didn't pick up a racket until she was 10, but by the time she finished high school in San Diego, Loonin had become one of the top players in the Southern California section's brutal competition.

Loonin came to Cambridge largely thanks to junior tennis standout Maria Pe, who has been a close friend since childhood. Loonin has not regretted her decision, she feels she has matured with the team over the past two years.

"Last year a lot of us were freshmen, and we had a new coach. It took a while to get unified. This year I could tell right away that we were all going to get along," she said.

Loonin and freshman Roberta Hing have been devastating at third doubles for the Crimson. The pair are undefeated in the Ivies and knocked off both U.C-Irvine and U.C-Long Beach during the team's trip to California.

Hawaiian Punch

Kirkland's Tracy Kunichika also enjoyed a sterling high school career before coming to Harvard last year, she now alternates with Loonin in the sixth singles spot.

Kunichika seems confident that the team can capture the Ivies this year with wins over Princeton and Yale and she credits much of the team's success to Coach Usher. "He's really excellent with strategy and strokes," she said.

Usher himself has high hopes for the rest of the season. "The team has good character and depth. They have what a team is supposed to have."