DeLone will begin her first spring season ranked by the ITCA as the second best collegiate player in the country.
"She's a sigh of relief," Graham said. "She's going to give us a sure point every game."
DeLone, the younger sister of last year's team captain Amy, took a year off between high school and Harvard to play on the professional tour where her world ranking climbed as high as 95th.
In the fall, she adjusted just fine to the college circuit, posting an 18-2 singles record while winning the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association (ITCA) individual title.
DeLone will backed up by the other Erika--junior Erika Elmuts, who finished second in the Eastern regional championships this fall. Elmuts teams up with deLone to form one of best double pairs in the country (currently 25th in the nation).
Other big contributors for Harvard will be sophomore Samantha Ettus, who posted the best singles record on the team last year, 20-5, and senior Kim Cooper, who returns to varsity matches after being sidelined since her sophomore year with a shoulder injury.
Going Out to Cali, to Cali...
Harvard begins its season with a grueling eight-day, six-match spring break in California.
The Golden State matches will not only provide the Crimson its first games--and undoubtedly toughest-of the spring season.
During the trip, the Crimson will lock horns with nationally-ranked teams Stanford (number two in the country) and Pepperdine (number 10 in the country) as well as several other teams on the bubble of the ITCA rankings.
"We're going to play a lot of tennis," Graham predicted. "It should be a real good week."
After spring break, the team returns to the East to face rivals Virgina and William and Mary, before plunging into the Ivy League schedule.
For the first time in nine seasons, Harvard will not be defending an Ivy title. The Crimson finished the 1991 Ivy season with a 5-2 mark, which was good for a second place tie with Yale behind Ivy champion Brown.
One Harvard advantage for the Ivies: the schedule. The Crimson will host five out of its seven league matches, including most of the tough ones.
"We are certainly one of the top teams," Graham said. "Whether or not we are the top team, I'm not sure. If we can keep everybody clicking, we should be in good shape." WOMEN'S VARSITY TENNIS
MARCH Sat. 21 at Pacific noon Mon. 23 at Stanford 1:30 p.m. Tues. 24 vs.UCSB* 1 p.m. Thur. 26 at Pepperdine 1:30 p.m. Fri. 27 vs. NU** 10 a.m. Sat. 28 vs. Fres St.** noon
APRIL Sat. 4 VIRGINIA 1 p.m. Sun. 5 W & M 1 p.m. Fri. 10 COLUMBIA 2 p.m. Sat. 11 PENN 1 p.m. Wed. 15 at BC 2 p.m. Fri. 17 at Princeton 2 p.m. Fri. 24 BROWN 2 p.m. Sat. 25 YALE 1 p.m. Wed. 29 DARTMOUTH 2 p.m.
MAY Fri. 1 at Cornell 2 p.m. Sat. 2 ARMY 1:00 p.m. Tue. 5 PRINCETON noon * at Woodland Hills ** at Pepperdine Harvard Women's Tennis Lines
SINGLES Pos. Name Year Hometown #1 Erika deLone Fr. Lincoln, MA * Erika Elmuts Jr. Carlisle, MA * Samantha Ettus So. New York, NY * Kim Cooper Sr. Roslyn, NY #5 Eliza Parker So. Dover-Foxcroft, ME #6 Agata Passent Fr. Cambridge, MA #7 Kendra Harris Fr. Ventura, CA #8 Katie Hatch Fr. Billings, MT * Elmuts, Ettus and Cooper will platoon at two, three and four.
DOUBLES #1 DeLone/Elmuts #2 Passent/Parker #3 Hatch/Harris (These lines assume that Pollack is unable to start the season.)