In politics, the United States and the Soviet Union are widely recognized as the two superpowers. One is located in the East and one in the West.

In women's tennis, Harvard, ranked 23rd in the country, has been the best team in the East since 1983. The Crimson has won six straight Ivy championships and qualified for five straight NCAA tournament appearances.

And the Crimson is ready to challenge the West.

During spring break, the Crimson will travel to California, where it will take on the University of San Diego, U.S. International, San Diego State, UCLA, Pepperdine and Cal. State-Long Beach. UCLA is ranked fourth in the nation, Pepperdine is ranked 12th, San Diego is 16th, and San Diego St. comes in 18th.

Harvard has already played seven matches this spring. Its 2-5 spring record may be a little deceiving since three of its five losses have come against top-25 teams.

"It would be great if we could come away with a few good wins," Coach Ed Krass said. "We're venturing into some tough competition. The trip will help us when we start our Ivy season."

"We're really looking forward to [the spring trip]," Harvard Co-Captain Kathy Mulvehal said. "We're playing teams that are ranked closer to us. There's potential there to take some really good wins."

Back East

There Ivy teams are out to dethrone the Crimson this season. Yale, Dartmouth and Princeton are the only legitimate teams that can challenge the powerful Crimson squad.

How dominating has Harvard been in the Ivies? The Crimson has a 41-match Ivy winning streak dating back to 1983, when the Elis topped Harvard, 6-3. Harvard will be looking for its sixth straight undefeated Ivy season.

"We're excited about the season," Harvard's Christina Dragomirescu said. "It's going to be a tough season. Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth will provide the toughest competition."

"It's going to be a tougher season than a lot of us expected," Mulvehal said. "It's not going to be a total walk-away. Since we lost to William & Mary, all of the matches are important the rest of the way."

The Crimson defeated William & Mary during the fall, but lost to the Indians two weeks ago, 5-4, at Palmer Dixon Courts.

Harvard's first-place finish in the ITCA Eastern Regional Tournament qualifed it for the USTA/ITCA National Indoor Tournament in Minneapolis, March 2-4. Harvard lost to eighth-ranked Kentucky, 5-1, and Wisconsin, 5-2. But the Crimson bounced back to upset 15th-ranked SMU, 5-4.

"We had a big win over SMU," Krass said. "It was a big win for our program. It was real uplifting. The team realizes that if it gives its best individual effort, it can come out of a match with a victory."