Parker: Comeback Kid

Sophomore Eliza Parker received the unusual honor of being named Most Improved Player of her team-for the second straight year.

Parker's gutsy play during the home stretch of the Harvard women's tennis season made her the uncontested choice for the honor.

After taking the fall semester off to play the junior circuit, parker had a dismal return to Harvard tennis.

On the team's spring break West Coast swing, Parker did not win one match.

Her coach, Gordon Graham, said that she was making difficult adjustments in her tennis game.

"She was working on a very aggressive style of play," Graham said. "We kept telling her not to give up because we all knew it would take some time."

To Parker's credit, she didn't abandon her new game. And once she returned to Cambridge, she began to reap the benefits of her patience.

Excluding a loss against her William and Mary opponent, Parker won all of her remaining varsity matches in the fourth position, including all seven of her Ivy contests.

"She just kept winning," Graham said. "We knew her work would pay off, but we didn't know how soon."

McNabb, Parker Chosen: Sophomores Melissa McNabb and Parker will serve as cocaptains for the 1992-93 squad.

Parker played most of the year in the fourth singles position and in the second doubles slot with freshman Agata Passent.

McNabb teamed up with Rachel Pollack as the third doubles pair for the Crimson this season.

"They both have a lot of good leadership qualities," said Harvard coach Gordon Graham.

Cooper Gets Credit: What do you give a player that deserves an award but just doesn't quite fit into any of the categories?

A new award.

That's what Graham did for senior Kim Cooper.

Cooper, who didn't play tennis for two years because of injury, was instrumental in the leadership of the 1991-92 Ivy Champs.

"She just came in this year and gave the team a lot of the character that made it so special," Graham said, who awarded the senior with a Coach's Award for Team Contribution. "She received votes for MVP and Most Improved. If she had another year, she might have been selected captain."

DeLone to NCAA's: After freshman Erika deLone takes care of most her exams this week, she'll be on a plane to California on Saturday to compete in the NCAA individual women's championships to be held early next week (Mother Harvard is making deLone take one of her exams in California).

DeLone is currently ranked eighth in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association (ITCA).

Most likely, the NCAA tourney will be the last amateur competition in deLone's career.

She has announced that she intends to leave Harvard and renounce her amateur status in order to turn professional after the NCAA championships.

From the "Big Suprise" department: DeLone was named Most Valuable Player of this year's squad.