M., W. TENNIS PERFECT IN IVY, FALL IN NCAAS

There may be few certainties in life, but success for the Harvard men's tennis team is clearly one of them.

Led by the spectacular play of sophomore James Blake, as well as from co-captains Kunj Majmudar and Mike Passarella, the Crimson (22-5, 7-0 Ivy) dominated the Ivy League yet again this season to clinch its fifth consecutive conference crown.

Harvard sent up a formidable lineup this season. Aside from Majmudar, Passarella and All-American Blake, the Crimson also boasted excellent play from juniors John Doran and Joe Green.

"We had a very strong and talented team this season," Passarella said. "[Blake] was simply phenomenal and [Majmudar] played great too. Every player on the team improved tremendously over the year."

The Crimson began play this year in the fall, competing in the ECAC Championships at Princeton in mid-October.

The Crimson breezed through the first two rounds of the 16 team tournament, crushing both St. John's and then Army by the score of 7-0.

Next up for Harvard was tough Ivy foe, Princeton. The Tigers gave the Crimson a bit more of a fight, but behind the solid play of Blake and Majmudar, Harvard cruised to a 5-2 win. In the final, it was more of the same, as the Crimson clinched the title with a 4-2 victory over Virginia Tech.

Harvard did not take to the courts again as a team until February, but when it did, its top singles player, Blake, also was the country's No. 1 ranked player.

To open the spring season, the Crimson hosted two of the nation's stronger teams: No. 27 Kentucky and No. 12 Tennessee.

Blake avenged a loss earlier in the season to the Wildcat's Carlos Drada with a three-set win. Majmudar, Green and Doran followed suit winning their singles matches to fight off Kentucky, clinching the 4-3 victory.

The next day, invigorated after its success against the Wildcats, Harvard blasted favorite Tennessee, 6-1. Blake once again led Harvard with a strong straight-set win.

The Crimson headed into the National Men's Indoor Tennis Championships the next week, where it faced off against national No. 4 Mississippi. Despite a valiant effort, Harvard could not pull off the upset, falling by a final of 4-3.

In the next round, the Crimson took on Tennessee in rematch of the previous week's match. This time around, however, the Vols were ready, and they avenged the earlier loss by sneaking by Harvard, 4-3. The Crimson did manage to blank Oklahoma, 6-0, to end the weekend on a positive note.

After these tough opening matches, Harvard continued its out of conference schedule with mixed results.

The Crimson rebounded from its 1-2 performance at the indoor championships with convincing wins over Penn State and Virginia Commonwealth by the counts of 7-0 and 5-2, respectively.

Riding high on a three-game winning streak, Harvard finished a disappointing fifth at the Blue Gray Classic. After posting a 4-1 win over Boise State, the Crimson fell to Virginia 4-1, with Blake being upset in straight sets. Harvard did manage to recover and win the consolation match against Northwestern, 4-2.

"At times we didn't play or best and lost some matches that we probably shouldn't have," Passarella said.

The Crimson then took to the road for spring break for its last matches before Ivy League play. At the U.C. Santa Barbara Invitational, Boise State avenged its earlier loss to Harvard, upsetting the Crimson, 4-3. Harvard, managed to pull out a 4-3 win over New Mexico State in the consolation match of the tournament.

Pepperdine marked the Crimson's final opponent before the Ivy season, and Harvard squeaked by them as well, 4-3.

The Crimson were the clear favorite entering conference play, and proved it with resounding victories over Columbia and Cornell to open its league schedule.

Paced by solid play throughout the lineup, Harvard had its way with the Lions and Big Red, defeating them by scores of 6-1 and 7-0, respectively.

It was more of the same the next week, as the Crimson took on Princeton and Penn.

In Princeton, Harvard faced its toughest opponent in the Ivy League. The Tigers, however, proved to be no match for the Crimson attack, as Harvard pounded Princeton by the count of 7-2.

Blake dominated his singles match, winning 6-2, 6-1. And Doran and Majmudar also impressed at the No. 2 and 3 positions, respectively, with straight set victories. At No. 5, Passarella also prevailed in straight sets.

The next day, the Quakers also found themselves overwhelmed, as Harvard blanked them, 7-0.

The Crimson kept rolling along, as it crushed Brown and Yale the subsequent week to clinch what it had expected to earn all along--a fifth straight Ivy League crown, its 10th in 11 seasons.

Despite playing without Majmudar--out of action with an illness--Harvard dropped only one match on the weekend, defeating the Bears and Elis 7-0 and 6-1, respectively.

"Winning the Ivy League was a great accomplishment for the team," Majmudar said. "For the seniors, we had won it each previous year, so it was great to close out our careers with another title."

With the conference title in hand, Harvard completed its perfect Ivy League season by blanking Dartmouth, 7-0, and shifted its attention to NCAA team championships.

At the conclusion of the season, the Crimson--ranked No. 19 in the country--were slated to play Notre Dame at Indiana State in the first round of the national tournament.

Harvard came out strong against the Fighting Irish--winning the doubles point to start the match--and held on in singles play to advance to the second round with a 4-2 victory. Leading the way for the Crimson were Blake and Passarella, both winners of their singles matches. Blake's match was the most impressive, as he defeated Ryan Sachire, the nation's No. 3 ranked player.

In the second round, Harvard squared off against No. 10 Baylor. But despite Blake's impressive straight set win over No. 16 Johann Jooste, the Crimson could not pull off the upset. The Bears eliminated it from the tournament, 4-1.

The loss proved to be a great disappointment to the team, as it ended a streak of three consecutive appearances to the NCAA round of 16.

Despite the disappointment, the players remain pleased with its accomplishments on the season.

"We were definitely disappointed to have not made it as far as last year," Passarella said, "but we still feel that we had an excellent year."