Pollack Captures Singles Title

To the victor go the spoils.

Harvard freshman Rachel Pollack captured the third-flight singles title of the Harvard Invitational, receiving a week's supply of frozen yogurt for her efforts.

Pollack defeated Trinity's Tricia Bales, 6-4, 6-1, in the final yesterday at the Beren Tennis Center.

"I think this establishes Rachel as a player to be respected at the numbers-five and six positions," Harvard Coach Ed Krass said. "[The win] certainly gives her a degree of inner confidence. As she improves, she'll be even more of a force to contend with."

The tenacious baseliner kept her opponent offguard with incredible saves and a variety of spins and paces.

"[Coach] Krass told me [Bales] was having trouble with low balls to her backhand, so I started slicing low to her backhand," Pollack said. "She was a hard hitter, and if I had tried to hit hard with her, it would have been a lot closer."

In the Flight 1 final, hard-hitting North Carolina freshman Cinda Gurney prevailed over Trinity junior Alison Fleming, 6-0, 3-6, 6-1, overcoming not only her opponent, but a shaky serving day as well. Gurney upset the number-one seed, Trinity's Katrina Crawford, 6-3, 6-3, in the quarterfinals, and Fleming topped second-seeded Diana Gardner from Princeton, 7-5,6-3, in the semifinals.

The Crimson duo of sophomore Kim Cooper and junior Amy deLone reached the semifinals of the Flight 1 doubles competition, before falling to UNC's Valerie Farmer and Alisha Portnoy, 6-4, 6-1. Farmer and Portnoy upset the top-seeded Tiger team of Lauren Fortgang and Gardner in the first round.

Freshman Ericka Elmuts and sophomore Jennifer Minkus lost in the second round to the number-two seed, Mary Lynn Cladis and Fleming from Trinity.

Elmuts captured the second-flight consolation title, topping Princeton junior Kyung Han, 6-1, 7-5.

Pollack and Captain Niki Rival won the first set but could not maintain the momentum, succumbing, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, to Han and Kristin Green in the second round of Flight 2 doubles action.

Juniors Debbie Cohen and Tricia Small also exited in the second round, losing to the second-seeded Yale team of Kathrin Linz and Karen Salmon, 6-1, 6-3.

The Men

The Harvard men's tennis team must not have said enough Hail Mary's this weekend because Notre Dame was not very benevolent to the Crimson.

The Crimson entered Saturday's matches at the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind, with high hopes, but no one ultimately prevailed.

Sophomore Michael Zimmerman reached the finals of the "A" singles draw but dropped a straight-set decision, 6-2, 6-4.

Three Crimson players made the quarterfinals of the "B" singles competition, but sophomores Derek Brown and Albert Chang both lost in that round, while junior Jonathan Cardi squandered a set advantage, exiting in the semifinals, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The doubles draws proved just as disappointing. Chang and Captain Mark Leschly reached the semifinals of "A" doubles but lost in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. In the "B" draw, Cardi and sophomore John Tolmie posed a tough challenge but came up short, 7-5, 6-4.