M., W. Tennis Suffer Defeats

This weekend was a surprisingly disappointing one for Harvard tennis. Following strong performances in recent weeks, the men's squad faltered in the Corpus Christi Tournament, losing in the second round.

The women enjoyed only marginal success in weekend action against Mississippi and Arkansas State.

The poor showing of the men's team was certainly unexpected.

"We were pretty confident," sophomore Philip Tseng said. "We felt we could do well in the tournament."

However, not accustomed to playing outdoor matches, the Crimson men were not on top of their game.

"I think [the outdoors] had a huge impact on our play, probably more than we know," senior captain Todd Meringoff said. "Things we expected to be there in our games just didn't happen."

After defeating Nebraska handily in the first round, Harvard fell to Michigan 4-2 in the second, lost the consolation match to UNLV and was eliminated by Tulsa.

"These were all teams that we expected to beat," Tseng said. "They were better adjusted to the conditions."

The Crimson entered the Texas tournament ranked thirteenth in the country after impressive victories over Duke and South Alabama in the National Indoor Championships.

"The whole team feels a little dejected because we didn't rebound as well as we would have liked," Meringoff said. "We feel at a loss for stable ground."

The women's squad fared better than the men in their attempts to acclimate to outdoor play. After losing at Mississippi 9-0 Saturday, the Crimson women trounced Arkansas State Sunday before leaving the match early to catch a flight home.

The loss to Mississippi did not come as a shock to the Crimson considering it had not played in an outdoor match all season until Saturday.

"Outdoor tennis is a lot different than indoor tennis," co-captain Kate Roiter said. "The whole point of the trip was to get accustomed to the outdoors."

And accustomed they were, coming back from a frustrating defeat to Mississippi to dismantle Arkansas State in a one-sided contest.

"After Arkansas, we were much more comfortable with the wind and outdoor factors," Roiter said.

The women's team, the defending Ivy League champions, will travel to California over Spring Break for one last tuneup before the Ivy League season begins in earnest in April. The men will also be in action in California over the break.