Netmen Excellent In Invitational Meet

The Harvard men's tennis team put forth an impressive performance last weekend at the Farnsworth/Princeton Invitational tournament. The Crimson advanced three players to the semifinals of the 32-man singles draw and one doubles team to the finals of the doubles draw.

"We didn't know what to expect going in since they invite different teams each year," sophomore Mitty Arnold said. "But as a team we pretty much dominated the tournament."

The tournament featured players from 12 schools including, most notably, Princeton--the Crimson's toughest competition in the Ivy League--and Mississippi, the ninth-ranked team in the nation.

The Mississippi squad sent only two representatives but managed to win both the singles and doubles draws, beating Harvard players in both finals.

"The guy that won the tournament from Mississippi is its number-three singles player," Arnold said. "Their team is just pretty damn good."

In the singles draw, captain Andrew Rueb lost in the finals to Mississippi's Remi Feneon, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 in arguably the best match of the tournament.

"The finals were very disappointing for me," Rueb said. "I won the first set, but I let up for a second and he was back in it. It really came down to two points in the tie-breaker."

Rueb, who was sidelined for much of last spring with an injury, appears to have reclaimed his form.

"I'm really happy with where my game is," Rueb said. "It's definitely heading in the right direction."

In the other semifinal match, Rueb defeated freshman teammate Philip Tseng, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

"In the first set I was really rolling," Tseng said. "Rueb changed his tactics in the second set, though and was able to counter my game. He's really smart player."

In the other half of the draw, freshman Tom Blake advanced to the semifinals before losing, 7-5, 6-2, to the eventual champion, Feneon.

In the doubles draw, the tandem of Arnold and Tseng lost in the finals to the Mississippi team, 8-4.

"We haven't played that much together," Arnold said. "But we were pleased with how we did."

The weekend performance high-lighted the Crimson's depth and talent, which should carry the team well beyond the regional Ivy League competition and into the upper-echelon of national collegiate tennis.

"It's obvious how much improved our team is," Rueb said. "We really showed how much firepower we have this weekend."

The Crimson will have to call on a lot of that firepower in its next competition--the Corpus Christi Tournament, which is held March 2-5.

The 16-team tournament which will include several nationally ranked teams, including eighth-ranked Texas Christian and fifteenth-ranked Notre Dame.