It's obvious why the Harvard women's tennis team suffered a disappointing 3-6 loss at Columbia this weekend. The problem was all over the surface--the surface of Columbia's indoor courts, that is.

"Columbia really had the advantage on clay," said junior Kendra Harris, who earned a singles win for the Crimson. "Our team hadn't played on clay for two or three years."

Freshman Kate Roiter nevertheless pulled out a textbook come-from-behind three-set victory at first singles over Columbia's Hilary Chulock, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.

Chulock had two match-points in the third set before Roiter decided to re-focus and take the match for herself.

"She served at 40-5 when it was 5-2, and it suddenly hit me," Roiter said. "I didn't want to lose to her."

The second doubles team of Harris and freshman Kelly Granat also nabbed a victory for Harvard, 6-3, 6-2.

The Lions made the most of their home court advantage on the slow surface, moving Crimson players around the court effectively and making Harvard run to get to the ball.

"They used their drop shots well, and it was hard for us to move on clay," said Harris, who pulled out a three-set win after losing a first-set tie-breaker to Columbia's Mona Majmudar.

Harris, who usually competes at the fifth singles position, won her match 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, at the fourth spot on Saturday. Junior Melissa McNabb's stomach muscle pull forced the change in lineup. McNabb had to leave her match at Penn on Friday and could not compete against the Lions.

Freshman Erica Cheng, who usually represents Harvard in the top six, was also sidelined with an injury for last weekend's matches.

Regardless of its fluctuating lineup, after the opening weekend of its Ivy season, the Crimson is optimistic about its possibilities.

Princeton has been cited as the top league contender, and "we have a very good chance of tying with them," Harris said.

Harvard will get a chance to battle the Tigers face to face this Friday at home.

****

The Men: At the Palmer-Dixon Indoor Courts on Saturday, the Harvard men's tennis team blasted Columbia, 5-2.

Three sophomores led the Crimson campaign: Andrew Rueb tallied a Harvard victory at first singles with a 6-3, 6-3, triumph over Columbia's Mark Sigalove, while Umesha Wallooppillai and Chris Laitala cruised to straight-set singles wins at third and sixth singles, respectively.

At second singles, junior Marshall Burroughs rallied to a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, win over Columbia's Burke Banoa.

"I played in a daze the second set," Burroughs said of his match, "but then I regrouped and played a solid third set."

Harvard stole the doubles point, as the Crimson swept two of the three matches, which are played in the eight game pro-set format.

The duo of Rueb/Wallooppillai swept Columbia's Sigalove/Banda, 9-8, at first doubles.

At second doubles, junior Adam Meister and freshman Todd Meringoff were victorious, 8-5.

Although last weekend's 2-0 performance gave the Ivy league a taste of Crimson talent, Harvard isn't quick to make assumptions.

"We try to ignore past results and take each match as it comes," Burroughs said. "And we have our toughest road trip of the season coming up this weekend."

Freshman Danny Chung, who was pulled out of Saturday's singles lineup with a hamstring injury, will be back this weekend to assist in the Crimson attack.

Harvard travels to Navy, West Virginia and Princeton for the four-day road trip, and the Crimson is looking to continue rolling over opponents the way that it rolled over Columbia last weekend.