The Harvard men's tennis team is already the top-ranked squad in the Northeast.

At the Rolex Eastern Regional Championships, held at Princeton, the Crimson went a step further and established itself as a dominant national power.

In a stunning display of depth and talent, Harvard captured both the singles and the doubles draws.

O Captain, My Captain

Captain Mike Zimmerman, playing in his first match since injuring his hamstring over the summer, won the singles bracket, while the team of Andrew Rueb and Albert Chang won the doubles bracket.

What made the victories even more impressive was the fact that they were not won by Harvard's top players.

Zimmerman is third on the singles depth chart on his own team, while Harvard's top doubles team of Zimmerman and Michael Shyjan, ranked second in the nation, was not allowed to compete.

"Our team is very strong this year," Zimmerman said. "But it was good to see us play so well."

There is virtually no end to the examples of Harvard's prowess.

Singles

In the singles draw, Harvard's top six players received invitations, while seventh- and eighth-ranked Umesha Wallooppillai and Marshall Burroughs qualified in a preliminary tournament.

In the real tournament, Wallooppillai and Burrough advanced to the round of 16, along with Zimmerman, Shyjan and Derek Brown.

Shyjan and Zimmerman both reached the semifinals. Shyjan lost to top-seeded Mark Booras of West Virginia, 6-3, 7-6, but Zimmerman completed his triumphant recovery with a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 win, avenging Shyjan's loss.

"If you consider what we did, placing so many players and having them all do so well, it was unbelieveable," Rueb said.

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