"It's really nice to have some-one move to play us," Fish said. "We're so used to moving."

Zimmerman echoed similar sentiments.

"When you're on the road so much, you feel like you're living out of a bag," Zimmerman said.

The ECAC tournament, which takes place from Oct. 11-13, will give the Crimson a chance to meet eastern archrival West Virginia. And, the Rolex Championships in early November will provide "a chance for guys to shine individually," according to Fish.

These three tournaments are warm-ups for the big spring events--the National Indoor Team Championships, the Corpus Christi Invitational and the Blue-Grey Classic.

But, Harvard's entrance to the NCAA championships will mostly depend on its ability to win the Eastern region.

"It's unusual for us to get enough votes to get in to the NCAA's as an at-large bid," Fish said. "Our main thrust is to win the Ivies and the Eastern region, which means beating West Virginia. If we beat those teams, we get to go to the NCAA's."

The Crimson's diverse array of recruits will also face stiff competition from last season's NCAA-experienced starters.

But, Fish gave high marks to freshman Andrew Rueb, who was ranked 22nd in under-18 competition. Rueb has won two national amateur tournaments and is a "good doubles player," according to Fish.

"He's someone who has a pretty good chance for making a spot for himself," Fish said.

Umesha Walloopillai, from Colombo, Sri Lanka, has played in Davis Cup matches for his country since age 15. He is the mystery recruit. Fish said he has yet to see him play.

Cesar Conde, Chris Laitala, Sean Sullivan and Sudhakar Kosaraju will also vie for positions.

"We don't know quite how the guys will stack up," Fish said. "We have five seniors from the group last year. So we'll have to wait and see."