Netwomen Volley With Big Ten Foes

The women's tennis team traveled all the way to Notre Dame this weekend to face Big Ten powers that included Maryland, Michigan State, University of Michigan, Purdue, University of Kentucky, and Notre Dame in the ECK Tennis Classic. The tournament was divided into four singles flights and two doubles flights.

The highlight of the tournament featured two Harvard players, co-captain Kelly Granat and sophomore Anna Chai, facing off in the final round of the fourth flight singles draw.

Granat roared into the finals after soundly defeating four different opponents, losing only one set en-route. Chai, who received a bye for her first round, also crushed her next three opponents.

Granat showed no mercy in the showdown with her teammate and prevailed, 6-1, 6-4, over Chai. Granat, however, downplayed the inter-team faceoff.

"The first tournament [my] freshman year I played a teammate of mine," Granat said. "Because of that experience [playing Anna] didn't faze me that much. We sort of dealt with it in a light-hearted way. Anna and I were joking around [before the final round] that if we kept winning we would face each other in the finals."

Emotions varied among the team in preparing for its second major tournament of the season, coming just two weeks after the Harvard Invitational--an individual tournament that featured players from BC, Colorado, Rice, and Wisconsin.

Some of the players were apprehensive about facing the mighty Big Ten teams and their nervousness showed the first day. The fact that the Crimson is also missing three of its top players--co-captain Kate Roiter, sophomore Mylin Torres and freshman Ivy Wang--did little to improve confidence.

"Before playing we were apprehensive about playing Big Ten teams," Granat said.

But coach Gordon Graham called a team meeting after the first day and inspired the players to overcome their intimidation of the Big Ten.

"We actually had pretty bad matches the first day," said Gina Majmudar, the team's top player. "As a team we did a really good job of not getting down on ourselves."

Majmudar played well especially considering the fact that she had not picked up a racket in tournament play since last spring.

"I took a few months off this summer from tennis," Majmudar said. "I just wanted to get back into playing matches. [I was] more excited than nervous."

Majmudar's return was not exactly a Monica Seles style comeback--she lost her first match to Minnesota's Jennifer Hayes, 6-4, 0-6, 7-5. However, she did manage two wins in the consolation bracket of the first singles flight.

"My groundstrokes are really working well for me," Majmudar said. "I didn't feel rusty. I actually felt fres."

The road trip was a chance for the team to get acquainted with each other as there are quite a few new faces this year.

"I got to know a lot of people on this trip," said Rosemary She, a freshman who is one of the top players on the team. "[Road trips] are always fun."

The fun ended for She when she pulled her hamstring in her second consolation match of the second singles flight against Natalie Adsnar from Illinois. She was forced to default her second match after losing her first match to Purdue's Alyssa Kohl, 6-4, 6-2, and she became the fourth player on the Crimson's injury list.

"I pulled a quadricep muscle so I didn't play that well," She said. "The strength in my game is my speed. Since I pulled my muscle I couldn't use that part of my game that well."

Who knew tennis was such a dangerous sport?

Roiter is back practicing after pulling her hamstring in the beginning of the season.

"I'm hitting this week," Roiter said. "This week I hope to come back in full force."

If the Crimson plays with the same spirit and intensity it showed the last two days of the tournament, it well definitely be a force at the Rolex Invitational Tournament, November 3-6. Individual players qualify for the tournament based on the strength of the team, the individual's record, and the individual's past performance.

Hopefully for the Crimson, it can heal its wounds by then.