M. Tennis Wins Title, Advances to Nationals

When I decided to follow in my brother's footsteps and come to Harvard for his senior year, it had a pretty minor impact on Harvard sports. I will say, however, that the world of MAC pick-up basketball was set on its ear for the 1995-96 school year.

But, in this 1997-98 school year, a pair of brothers with true athletic talent did put the Harvard community on notice. The Blake brothers--senior co-captain Tom and freshman James--were to play tennis here for one year of glory after which one would graduate and the other may move to the next level.

However, the Harvard tennis team (25-4, 9-0 EITA) was unable to truly take advantage of the bounty of Blakes this year as injuries kept the Crimson from advancing as far into the NCAA Tournament as their talent may have suggested.

The season ended for Harvard in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on May 23 in Athens, Georgia when the 13th-seeded Crimson dropped a heartbreaking three-and-a-half hour match to No. 3 seed and eventual national runner-up Georgia.

The Crimson was put in this less-than-peachy predicament because of its nemesis all season--the frailness of the human body.

Tom Blake went down with a hamstring injury in early April. Coach Dave Fish '72 may have cursed himself after the Crimson took its first two matches without the senior when he called Blake the "fastest healer" he had ever seen. The healing process was still incomplete as the NCAA Tournament rolled around, and that fact alone did serious damage to the Crimson's NCAA chances.

In the seeding meeting for the NCAA draw, Fish was asked to appraise his team's chances. Answering honestly, Fish said that the elder Blake was questionable to play and that even if he did play, he would be less than 100 percent. There went the 12th seed and there went the match with Illinois--a far lesser opponent than Georgia.

Record: 25-4, 9-0 EITA

Coach: Dave Fish '72

Highlights: Wins fourth straight EITA title; James Blake named EITA Rookie of the Year; Tom Blake named EITA Senior of the Year

Seniors: Tom Blake, Philip Tseng

"If you were starting with a coaching plan for the beginning of the year, every thing went perfect for us except Thomas getting hurt," Fish said. "As a regional representative you have to keep some credibility and pretending that Thomas is perfect is not the way we do things. If Thomas had not gotten hurt, we would have been the 12th seed and it would have been a whole different story."

This is especially true in retrospect, as the Crimson gave the powerful Bulldogs a run for their money in almost every match and came amazingly close to pulling off the upset.

In the record books, Georgia is listed as a 4-0 victor, but a more deceptive final result is hard to imagine.

Georgia's Toledo Corrales may have closed out the Crimson's season by holding serve at 5-5 and then breaking Harvard junior Kunj Majmudar at 6-5 to take a 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 4 singles, but the Crimson was in prime position to win the three remaining matches.

At No. 1 singles, James Blake was serving for the match against John Roddick at 5-3 in the third when Georgia clinched. The freshman had won the first set, then dropped the second, before taking control in the third.

Meanwhile, at No. 5 singles, co-captain Philip Tseng had just taken the second set of his match, 6-4 to even things up at one set apiece. His opponent was subsequently rushed to the hospital due to heat prostration. The senior had lost the first set 6-3, but considering his opponent's physical condition had to be considered the favorite in the third and deciding set.

At No. 6 singles, freshman Scott Clarke, the hero of the team's regional title, was serving for his match at 5-4 in the second set. Clark had taken the first set 6-3.

So, in theory at least, the match against the Bulldogs was more like 4-3, Georgia. The hushed home crowd showed that this was no easy victory for the 'Dogs.

The "swing" match in the battle may have come at No. 3 singles. Sophomore John Doran looked to be in good shape against Georgia's Steven Baldas when the nemesis struck.

Doran injured his quad late in the first set--a set he would go on to win 6-4. Severelyhampered after that point, Doran--havingdifficulty moving--dropped the next two sets 6-1and 6-0. With a healthy Doran, it is conceivablethat Harvard would have advanced, even after goingdown 2-0 quickly.

Harvard played tough in the doubles matchesbefore finally losing the doubles point.

The highlight of the day for the Crimson mayhave been the play of James Blake and Majmudar atNo. 1 doubles. The duo--who had only playeddoubles together three times over the course ofthe entire season--stunned the top-ranked doublesteam in the nation, Roddick and Baldas. The 9-7Harvard win was the Crimson's lone doublesvictory.

At No. 3 doubles, Tseng and junior MikePassarella went down 3-0 right out of the blocks,but did not lie down. The pair fought hard beforefinally falling 8-6.

Tom Blake played heroically in his return tothe Harvard lineup, pairing with Clark for thefirst time since October. However, Blake's injurywas too much of a handicap, and the pair fell 8-6to Hisham Hemeda and Sherif Zaher.

After Tom Blake retired to Hemeda at 1-4 in thefirst set, Harvard was in a hole from which itwould not extricate itself.

The end of the team season did not mark the endof the year for two of Harvard's stalwarts. TheBlake brothers had a little more business toattend to, namely the NCAA singles and doubleschampionships.

The younger Blake represented the Crimson inthe singles draw; the injury kept Tom out of thedraw.

In the first round, James Blake overcame atough first set to earn a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victoryover Alex Witt of Northwestern. Blake, by beingseeded between ninth and 16th in the singles draw,earned All-America honors for his season.

The second round was not as kind for Blake, asUCLA's Matt Breen started strong, ended strong andwas strong in the middle. Blake fell 6-1, 6-1 inthe round of 32, However, there was no time tobemoan his loss.

Later that day, the Blake brothers reunited toplay doubles for the first time in over six weeks.The pair made up for lost time, defeating the teamof Joost and Hodge of Baylor in the first round.

However, the second round proved to be theendpoint for the Blakes in doubles as well. FacingLuis Uribe and Enrique Aberoa of the KansasJayhawks, the all-important seventh game hurt theCrimson brothers.

The first set was played evenly until saidseventh game, when at 3-3 the Jayhawks broke theBlakes. Service held for the rest of the set, withthe Blakes falling 6-4.

The second set played out in identicalfashion--the Blakes lost serve at 3-3 and lost theset 6-4 to end Tom's career and the Blake-Blakeseason for Harvard tennis.

The Crimson season would have been incompletewithout a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and aclutch performance by a freshman in the Regionalswas the only thing that made that possible.

In the NCAA Region 1 finals, the Crimson facedthe Hokies of Virginia Tech, a team it haddominated 6-1 earlier in the season.

In the last match of the day, Clark came frombehind to take a 6-7 (1-6), 6-4, 6-1 win over MarkTepes at No. 5 singles and secured a 4-3 victoryand third-straight regional title for the Crimson.

Clark himself knew what he was up against.

"I asked Coach what was happening in the othermatches and he said, `We've won three and in theother two we're losing.'" Clark said. "I said`This gives me a chance to be a hero,' but I wasjoking. I didn't think it would happen. It justended up that way."

"Somehow [Clark] kept coming up with big shotsat the right time," said Fish. "Tepes keptfighting, but Scott would somehow get one morepunch in there."

Clark's heroics were set up by a Crimson lapse.The team dropped the doubles point, but stormedback to take a 3-1 lead behind James Blake's 6-0,6-2 dismantling of the 17th-ranked player in thecountry.

However, Harvard dropped matches at Nos. 2 and6 to let the Hokies back in. The win marked thethird time all season the Crimson had lost thedoubles point and come back to win a match.

While the Blakes grabbed most of the headlines,the spring part of Harvard's season was a trueteam effort. If one word were used to describe thesquad during this stretch, it would have been"deep."

Throughout most of the spring, the Crimson wasless than 100 percent but still went undefeated inIvy League and EITA play, winning both titles forthe ninth time in 10 years.

At one point in the season, the Crimson playedwithout Tom Blake, Kunj Majmudar, Scott Clark andJohn Doran, all of whom were in the top six. Yet,with all these injuries stacked up against them,Harvard didn't skip a beat, running through itsregular season opponents with uncommon ease. Itwas not until the match with Virginia Tech thatthe Crimson looked vulnerable.

Included in the spring run was a Crimsonvictory at the UCSB Gaucho Tennis Classic, a majorteam tournament where the Crimson fought hard totop Southwestern Louisiana by a 4-2 margin.

The victory marked the Crimson's first majortournament win since 1990.

Two other significant wins announced theCrimson's position on the national scene.

First, in February at the ITA National IndoorTeam Championships, the Crimson--then ranked17th--upset the ninth ranked Florida Gators beforeeventually falling to then-No. 5 Mississippi Stateby the slimmest of margins, 4-3, in the nextround.

The second wake-up call for the ITA was anupset of No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth a monthlater.

While there were many team triumphs, the seasonwill be remembered mostly for its individualperformances.

James Blake was the most impressive member ofthe team, going 36-5 in singles play and 33-3 indoubles action. The freshman's national rankingpeaked at No. 3, the highest ranking for a Harvardplayer since 1983. Blake was named both the NCAARegion 1 and EITA Rookie of the Year.

The continuation of the Blake legacy at Harvardwas put into doubt by James' spectacular play.Prior to the season, the pro tour was consideredfour years and a Harvard degree away for James.However, after a strong early season--most notablya defeat of No. 8 seed Mike Brian in the NationalIndoor Championships--Blake realized that the protour was not far away.

"When I beat Mike Brian, a player I grew upwatching, I knew that nothing could stop me if Ikeep improving," Blake said.

This summer James will test the pro waters asan amateur, almost certainly continuing during thefall term, and he will decided whether or not toreturn to Harvard in the spring based on hissuccess.

Joining him will be his brother. Tom was namedEITA Senior of the Year in a season that could bedescribed as a medical washout for the 1996-97EITA Player of the Year. The highlight of Tom'sseason--and a match that showed what he could dowhen healthy--may have been an upset of CedricKaufman of the University of Kentucky at the RolexInvitational Tournament. Kaufman was the No. 3player in the nation at the time. The elder Blakewill also take his show on the pro tour once herecovers from his long-term injury.

Joining the Blakes among EITA honorees wereFish and Majmudar. Fish was named EITA Coach ofthe Year for his guidance and Majmudar earned theSportsman of the Year Award.

Depending on James Blake's future, the Crimsonwill have either big or huge shoes to fill nextyear. Co-captains Tom Blake and Tseng are lost tograduation and James Blake may leave for the protour. The loss of all three would seriously changethe expectations for the team.

However, with a Blake still in the top spot,the Crimson can maintain incredible balance in itsteam.

Underclassmen Clark and Doran were mainstays inthis year's lineup, while next year's senior classincludes consistent performers Majmudar,Passarella and Elliot Weiss, a stellar doublesplayer who played little this season but would bea solid starter for most programs in the country.

The spring season showed that this team is nota top-heavy squad and that the Harvard program issolidly entrenched as tops in the East.CrimsonPaul S. GutmanJunior KUNJ MAJMUDAR smashes a forehand.

Harvard played tough in the doubles matchesbefore finally losing the doubles point.

The highlight of the day for the Crimson mayhave been the play of James Blake and Majmudar atNo. 1 doubles. The duo--who had only playeddoubles together three times over the course ofthe entire season--stunned the top-ranked doublesteam in the nation, Roddick and Baldas. The 9-7Harvard win was the Crimson's lone doublesvictory.

At No. 3 doubles, Tseng and junior MikePassarella went down 3-0 right out of the blocks,but did not lie down. The pair fought hard beforefinally falling 8-6.

Tom Blake played heroically in his return tothe Harvard lineup, pairing with Clark for thefirst time since October. However, Blake's injurywas too much of a handicap, and the pair fell 8-6to Hisham Hemeda and Sherif Zaher.

After Tom Blake retired to Hemeda at 1-4 in thefirst set, Harvard was in a hole from which itwould not extricate itself.

The end of the team season did not mark the endof the year for two of Harvard's stalwarts. TheBlake brothers had a little more business toattend to, namely the NCAA singles and doubleschampionships.

The younger Blake represented the Crimson inthe singles draw; the injury kept Tom out of thedraw.

In the first round, James Blake overcame atough first set to earn a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victoryover Alex Witt of Northwestern. Blake, by beingseeded between ninth and 16th in the singles draw,earned All-America honors for his season.

The second round was not as kind for Blake, asUCLA's Matt Breen started strong, ended strong andwas strong in the middle. Blake fell 6-1, 6-1 inthe round of 32, However, there was no time tobemoan his loss.

Later that day, the Blake brothers reunited toplay doubles for the first time in over six weeks.The pair made up for lost time, defeating the teamof Joost and Hodge of Baylor in the first round.

However, the second round proved to be theendpoint for the Blakes in doubles as well. FacingLuis Uribe and Enrique Aberoa of the KansasJayhawks, the all-important seventh game hurt theCrimson brothers.

The first set was played evenly until saidseventh game, when at 3-3 the Jayhawks broke theBlakes. Service held for the rest of the set, withthe Blakes falling 6-4.

The second set played out in identicalfashion--the Blakes lost serve at 3-3 and lost theset 6-4 to end Tom's career and the Blake-Blakeseason for Harvard tennis.

The Crimson season would have been incompletewithout a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and aclutch performance by a freshman in the Regionalswas the only thing that made that possible.

In the NCAA Region 1 finals, the Crimson facedthe Hokies of Virginia Tech, a team it haddominated 6-1 earlier in the season.

In the last match of the day, Clark came frombehind to take a 6-7 (1-6), 6-4, 6-1 win over MarkTepes at No. 5 singles and secured a 4-3 victoryand third-straight regional title for the Crimson.

Clark himself knew what he was up against.

"I asked Coach what was happening in the othermatches and he said, `We've won three and in theother two we're losing.'" Clark said. "I said`This gives me a chance to be a hero,' but I wasjoking. I didn't think it would happen. It justended up that way."

"Somehow [Clark] kept coming up with big shotsat the right time," said Fish. "Tepes keptfighting, but Scott would somehow get one morepunch in there."

Clark's heroics were set up by a Crimson lapse.The team dropped the doubles point, but stormedback to take a 3-1 lead behind James Blake's 6-0,6-2 dismantling of the 17th-ranked player in thecountry.

However, Harvard dropped matches at Nos. 2 and6 to let the Hokies back in. The win marked thethird time all season the Crimson had lost thedoubles point and come back to win a match.

While the Blakes grabbed most of the headlines,the spring part of Harvard's season was a trueteam effort. If one word were used to describe thesquad during this stretch, it would have been"deep."

Throughout most of the spring, the Crimson wasless than 100 percent but still went undefeated inIvy League and EITA play, winning both titles forthe ninth time in 10 years.

At one point in the season, the Crimson playedwithout Tom Blake, Kunj Majmudar, Scott Clark andJohn Doran, all of whom were in the top six. Yet,with all these injuries stacked up against them,Harvard didn't skip a beat, running through itsregular season opponents with uncommon ease. Itwas not until the match with Virginia Tech thatthe Crimson looked vulnerable.

Included in the spring run was a Crimsonvictory at the UCSB Gaucho Tennis Classic, a majorteam tournament where the Crimson fought hard totop Southwestern Louisiana by a 4-2 margin.

The victory marked the Crimson's first majortournament win since 1990.

Two other significant wins announced theCrimson's position on the national scene.

First, in February at the ITA National IndoorTeam Championships, the Crimson--then ranked17th--upset the ninth ranked Florida Gators beforeeventually falling to then-No. 5 Mississippi Stateby the slimmest of margins, 4-3, in the nextround.

The second wake-up call for the ITA was anupset of No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth a monthlater.

While there were many team triumphs, the seasonwill be remembered mostly for its individualperformances.

James Blake was the most impressive member ofthe team, going 36-5 in singles play and 33-3 indoubles action. The freshman's national rankingpeaked at No. 3, the highest ranking for a Harvardplayer since 1983. Blake was named both the NCAARegion 1 and EITA Rookie of the Year.

The continuation of the Blake legacy at Harvardwas put into doubt by James' spectacular play.Prior to the season, the pro tour was consideredfour years and a Harvard degree away for James.However, after a strong early season--most notablya defeat of No. 8 seed Mike Brian in the NationalIndoor Championships--Blake realized that the protour was not far away.

"When I beat Mike Brian, a player I grew upwatching, I knew that nothing could stop me if Ikeep improving," Blake said.

This summer James will test the pro waters asan amateur, almost certainly continuing during thefall term, and he will decided whether or not toreturn to Harvard in the spring based on hissuccess.

Joining him will be his brother. Tom was namedEITA Senior of the Year in a season that could bedescribed as a medical washout for the 1996-97EITA Player of the Year. The highlight of Tom'sseason--and a match that showed what he could dowhen healthy--may have been an upset of CedricKaufman of the University of Kentucky at the RolexInvitational Tournament. Kaufman was the No. 3player in the nation at the time. The elder Blakewill also take his show on the pro tour once herecovers from his long-term injury.

Joining the Blakes among EITA honorees wereFish and Majmudar. Fish was named EITA Coach ofthe Year for his guidance and Majmudar earned theSportsman of the Year Award.

Depending on James Blake's future, the Crimsonwill have either big or huge shoes to fill nextyear. Co-captains Tom Blake and Tseng are lost tograduation and James Blake may leave for the protour. The loss of all three would seriously changethe expectations for the team.

However, with a Blake still in the top spot,the Crimson can maintain incredible balance in itsteam.

Underclassmen Clark and Doran were mainstays inthis year's lineup, while next year's senior classincludes consistent performers Majmudar,Passarella and Elliot Weiss, a stellar doublesplayer who played little this season but would bea solid starter for most programs in the country.

The spring season showed that this team is nota top-heavy squad and that the Harvard program issolidly entrenched as tops in the East.CrimsonPaul S. GutmanJunior KUNJ MAJMUDAR smashes a forehand.