The Harvard men's and women's tennis teams established one thing this season: pre-season expectations--whether from the programs' harshest critics or their most loyal boosters--are about as worthwhile as Expos.

The men were expected to suffer through what coaches and writers tactfully call "a rebuilding year," possibly finishing fourth or fifth in the East at best. Instead, Harvard rolled through the captition and qualified for the NCAA tournament.

But high preseason expectations for the women sank in a sea of white tape. Multiple injuries sent the Crimson to its worst season in years.

The future is a random business, which is why psychics are not taken seriously by mainstream society.

But 20-20 hindsight...

The Men

Over the summer, the men lost their top five players from the first Harvard team ever to advance beyond the first round on the NCAA tournament. Nobody gave the Crimson a chance to return.

"Everyone called it a rebuilding year," said senior Captain Pete Stovell.

But in October, the Crimson silenced everyone, winning the ECAC Championship and seeing freshman Todd Meringoff, who was voted Rookie of the Year in the ECAC, win the Rolex Invitational.

Then, on its spring break tour in Southern California, Harvard went 2-3 against a slew of national-caliber teams.

And when Harvard came back to its kingdom in the East, it ravaged the region. The Crimson finished the regular season 10-1 overall, 8-1 in the EITA, and earned the region's lone bid to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Georgia.

Although the Crimson fell, 5-3 in the first round to North Carolina, "just getting there gave us a lot of satisfaction," said junior Captain-elect Marshall Burroughs. "No one expected that of us."

"We started off without our top five players, but apparently everyone improved enough to almost put us back to the level we were in last year," sophomore Umesha Wallooppillai said.

Walloopillai competed in the individual doubles draw with sophomore Andrew Rueb at the NCAA tournament, in addition to collecting a 16-4 record at third singles.

Rueb, who lost in the second round of the NCAA singles draw to one of the top-ranked players in the country, was voted the team's MVP and Most Improved player.