Suddenly things are looking a little less rosy for the Harvard women's tennis team.

The 25th-ranked Crimson, which looked impressive as it captured the singles and doubles championships at the Harvard Invitational, received very bad news this week.

Number-two singles player Melissa McNabb is sidelined with an inflammation of the knee cap and may be out as long as two months.

While the doctors have been unable to place "a hard and fast timetable" on McNabb's recovery schedule, according to Coach Gordon Graham, McNabb will certainly miss the opening round of one of the fall's biggest team tournaments, the ITCA regional qualifier.

"Melissa has an inflammation on the underside of the patella," Graham said. "It can be very painful, but I don't think it's debilitating. The doctors say that the recovery should move along--it could be a few weeks or it could be a few months."

Qualifying

The qualifier, which is slated for October 5-6, pits Harvard against other Eastern regional contenders, such as Yale.

If the Crimson is to retain its no. 25 ranking with the Volvo/ITCA national collegiate poll, Harvard's first national ranking in a couple of years, the Crimson will certainly have to advance to the next round.

In collegiate tennis, a team wins a match by taking five of the nine individual and doubles matches. The nine matches consist of six individual and three doubles matches.

Like number-one singles player Erika deLone, McNabb commonly plays in two matches--one singles and one doubles. Her loss will be doubly felt, as she will not play singles or doubles.

Ouch!

Additionally, starters Sam Ettus and Erika Elmuts are hurt and have not practiced, although Graham said that he expects the duo back for the ITCA qualifier.

Ettus is hampered by a sore thumb, and Elmuts suffers from a badly bruised wrist.

Graham spoke optimistically about his team's situation, saying that "[the injuries] put us in a situation that allows other people a chance to play."

"This may look grim to some people," Graham said. "But some good may come out of the adversity."

Graham played down Harvard's injuries, instead pointing to the Crimson's depth.

Graham cited junior Heather Chulock and frosh Katie Hatch, Cisca Mok and Kendra Harris as possible fill-ins.