Tennis isn't everything, it's the only thing.

Before coming to Harvard, tennis loomed as the numero uno priority for former women's tennis Coach Ed Krass. Eight-hour practices. Workouts at 6 a.m. before classes and at 4 p.m. after them.

The former Central Florida captain and top Clemson assistant coach came to Harvard hungry to implement his specialized training regiments.

Krass developed the "Biomechanically Efficient Service Technique" during his two-year tenure at Clemson. The serve--similar to that of former Wimbledon champion Roscoe Tanner--enables shoulder injury-prone players to create greater racquet speed by attacking the ball with a shorter motion and a lower ball toss than the traditional serve.

Krass' training routines worked. The results: four Ivy and two Eastern Regional championships in four seasons at Harvard.

But Krass announced his resignation last month from one of the most successful Harvard programs of the decade.

Number-two singles player Amy DeLone offered no explanations.

"After achieving as much as [Krass] did--winning the Ivy and East titles," deLone said, tinged with indignation, "I'm confused as to why he's leaving."

No matter why Krass is leaving, Co-Captain Nicole Rival said it will be increasingly difficult for a non-scholarship school like Harvard to attract and recruit talented high school players without a personality like Krass'.

"[Harvard] is at a definite disadvantage. We lose to scholarship schools," Rival said. "The next coach will have to find a special draw to make people want to play here. Ed will be sorely missed."

But, the road from men's coach at Central Florida and Clemson to women's coach at Harvard made for a hellish experience.

Even Krass realized the difficult transition from a men's program at Clemson to a woman's program at Harvard.

"It definitely was a transition from the Clemson men to the Harvard women," Krass said emphatically. "It look a lot to communicate with athletes with a stronger academic background and greater intelligence all the way around. It was a challenge to learn how to motivate them."

Krass was appointed coach at Central Florida in 1982, the year after he graduated from the school and captained the team. The former topseed led his team beyond its wildest dreams, qualifying as the Southeast Regional's representative in the fist ever NCAA Division II tournament in 1982. Two players, Troy McQuagge and Mike deFranco, qualified for All-America status under Krass' leadership.

Clemson selected Krass as head assistant coach in 1984, and the young coach helped set up training regiments for the Tigers, who included current U.S. Davis Cup team member Jay Berger,. Clemson finished ranked in the Top 10 and claimed the ACC championship both years that Krass worked with the program.