The Harvard women's tennis team knows that happy endings exist.

Unfortunately, the Crimson hasn't found one this fall.

Harvard officially wrapped up its fall schedule with a mediocre performance at the ITCA Regional Individual Tournament at Pennsylvania this weekend which wasn't entirely its fault.

Freshman Kate Roiter lost to Lisa Shafran of George Washington University in the third round of the singles draw, 7-5, 6-1, and the doubles team of Roiter and freshman Kelly Granat fell in the first round to Cheryl Ryu and Debbie Thomas of Brown, 6-4, 6-2.

But the Crimson--which should be forever hailed as legendary in terms of injuries, sicknesses and hours in the training room--could have done much better.

Granat was a last-second replacement for injured senior Erika Elmuts and junior Co-Captain Eliza Parker, and had not played doubles with Roiter since early October.

Originally, Elmuts was slated to play singles and doubles with Roiter. But an ankle injury in practice last week blasted Elmuts' hopes of ending her last fall season on a positive note.

Parker was the alternate, but illness prevented her from practicing several days last week, and she was unable to compete at the tourney as well.

As the lone singles player representing the Crimson, Roiter "pulled out some good matches," said Coach Gordon Graham.

In the first round, Roiter had to fight off a feisty Kim Jennings of Princeton to win 6-4, 6-4. Roiter went up 5-2 in the first set and 5-0 in the second, before staving off Jennings' comeback attempts.

"I played sort of an up-and-down game," Roiter said of her first match.

"She had a hard time finishing off the win, but she was definitely in control," Graham said.

Thoughts of sweet revenge carried the Weston, Mass.-native through the second round, as she downed Boston University's Heidi Steiber, who took Roiter to a third-set tie-break earlier this season.

Roiter remembers that first encounter with Steiber well. "I pulled a stomach muscle and was forced to serve underhand," she said. "And I lost."

Not this time. Roiter swept Steiber 6-0, 6-4, playing "probably some of the best tennis she'd played all season," according to Graham.