With the win, the women have effectively locked up the national title. Princeton has already defeated Yale, Harvard's other top competitor, so Desai sees the road as downhill.

"Yale's not going to be as close," she said. "Princeton was our toughest match."

Some kind of tough.

****

Weekend Action: The top three players on the men's and women's teams are headed to Philadelphia this weekend for the four-day USSRA Individual Championships.

Co-Captain Marty Clark, junior Adrian Ezra and freshman Tal Ben-Shacher will go from the men's team while Desai, Fraiberg and Fynon will compete for the women.

In the men's bracket, Ezra and Clark should both be seeded in the top four, according to Doyle.

The men's competition is open only to amateurs, unlike the women's brackets which are also open to professionals.

The Harvard women are expected to advance deep into the 64-player draw, but a Harvard victory would require a "major, major upset," according to Doyle.

It is rare for college players to win this tournament, several team members said.

But as the Murphy of "everything that can go wrong..." fame is rumored to have said, never expect miracles--rely on them.

****

Roll Call in the Training Room: Sophomore Jon Karlen (hip injury) and Ben-Shachar (flu) did not play yesterday. Men's Co-Captain Neal Tew is also out, but Ben-Shachar will play this weekend, and all three are expected back for the Howe Cup next weekend.

HARVARD, 9-0

at Hemenway Gym