Had Harvard achieved the respect it sought? The Big Red players walked away without any comments.

In the semifinal match, Harvard jumped to a two set lead over Princeton, and was within two points of pulling off another upset. But the Tigers rallied to win the final three sets.

Unlike Cornell and Yale, Princeton was not going to deny the Crimson its due. The eventual Ivy League champions were full of praise for Harvard.

Sore Losers

This year Harvard has proved it deserves the respects of its opponents, even though some teams, like Cornell and Yale, refuse to acknowledge the new powerhouse on the block. In its Ivy opener against Cornell, Harvard won the first two sets. Big Red players refused to believe it. "Come on, we're better than they are," they yelled to each other during the break.

Cornell rallied to win the next two sets, but Harvard took the deciding one.

The Big Red players walked away without any comments again.

Harvard went on to win its next three Ivy matches, including victories over Dartmouth, Columbia and Yale in a five-set thriller.

After her team's loss, Yale Coach Peggy Schultz rated Harvard the "fifth or sixth best team" in the Ivies. Ironically, her team finished in that sixth-place spot.

Respect. So close, and yet so far.

Perhaps Cornell and Yale have yet to show respect for the Crimson because they still don't believe Harvard is good, let alone good enough to beat them.

Harvard gets another crack at Cornell in the first round of the Ivy Tournament November 11. Will three straight victories over the Big Red be enough to earn its respect?