Overpowering Netmen Burst Lions' Bubble

Cruising through regular season play, the Harvard men's tennis team demolished Columbia on Saturday in New York, 5-1. Winning the match decisively in singles play, the Crimson (11-4 overall, 2-0 EITA) opted not to play doubles and left New York and a very succesful season opening weekend behind.

"We did what we had to do," said Michael Zimmerman, who dropped the Crimson's only match, losing in the first-singles spot to the seventh-ranked player in the nation, Jeff Chiang.

"Mike had a tough weekend," Captain Mark Leschly said, referring also to Zimmerman's loss to Penn's Dan Levine on Friday. "He couldn't perform to his level, but he'll bounce right back."

"We expected Zimmerman would have a tough match, but it was really even," agreed Albert Chang, who defeated the Lions' Steve Heroux at sixth singles quickly and decisively, 6-2, 6-1. "The home court advantage really helped Columbia. Michael wasn't fond of the clay."

The home court factor was influential Saturday. Columbia has the only clay courts in college tennis, and the courts are located in "a bubble" with no seats for the fans.

"The spectators are right in your face," Leschly said. "Columbia gets a lot of people out to watch the match, trying to psych you out. It's very intimidating."

But the Crimson rose to the occassion. It adjusted quickly to the adverse conditions, seizing all but one of the victorious matches in straight sets. Michael Shyjan and Jonathan Cardi obtained decisive victories in second and fifth-singles play respectively, while Leschly was pushed to three sets by Hari Aiyer but crushed his oppononent in the final set, 6-1.

"We were really on top of things. We had to play a little bit better because of the clay, and we did," said Derek Brown, who gave a solid performance at the fourth-singles spot.

The Crimson next plays Navy Saturday at Beren Tennis Center, which it follows up with its biggest match of league play, against West Virginia on Thursday also at Beren.

Currently ranked seventh in the nation, Harvard could still make a post-season NCAA bid without a win against West Virginia, since the eight regional winners as well as the 12 top teams in the nation all qualify. If, however, the Crimson slips in its national rank, it will have to beat West Virginia to obtain the regional title.

"Everyone's gunning for us," Zimmerman said.

But if this weekend has been any indication, the Crimson is well on its way to national play next month. Crimson, 5-1 at New York

Singles Matches

1. Jeff Chiang (C) d. Michael Zimmerman (H), 7-5, 6-4; 2. Michael Shyjan (H) d. Mark Sigalore (C), 6-2, 7-5; 3. Mark Leschly (H) d. Hari Aiyer (C), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; 4. Derek Brown (H) d. Rushan Samarsinghn (C), 6-4, 6-2; 5. Jonathan Cardi (H) d. David Gabel (C), 6-0, 6-4; 6. Albert Chang (H) d. Steve Heroux, 6-2, 6-1.