Bland, however, is not intimidated.

"When it comes time to play, you have to forget reputations, concentrate on the game, and forget the past," the freshman says. "If I go on thinking about seed or rank, I'll lose."

Marianne Groat--another Tiger--will be a tough opponent for the Crimson. She is ranked among the top 100 tennis players in the world, and second in Canada.

The University of Florida team--ranked fifth last year--will be lead by Lady Gator Tammy Withering. She had a 30-4 mark in singles and 22--7 slate in doubles last year.

Also watch Jan Martin (21-8 in singles, 27-1 in doubles) and Jill Hetherington (23--6, 27-1).

Harvard itself--ranked 18th last season--is no paper tiger.

The Crimson won the ECAC tournament last weekend at Princeton, with solid performances in all flights. It also fared very well in an individual-flight tournament at Syracuse.

Freshman Kristin Bland is undefeated so far this season and Kathy Vigna has claimed three straight. Erica Smith--a finalist and semi-finalist in her last two outings--and Cindy Buchsbaum are also forces to be reckoned with.

"The idea of the tournament is for the Eastern teams to get the opportunity to play national competition," Usher says.