Defending league champions often enter a season complacent. They sometimes let down their guard, thinking that things will work out without their making it so.

And more often than not, those teams get burned.

However, you won't find that type of attitude on the Harvard men's tennis team this year. The Crimson, which posted a perfect 9-0 EITA record last spring (17-7 overall), failed to make it out of its first NCAA tournament match for the third straight year, losing to Princeton--a team it Had beaten three weeks earlier.

"We weren't necessarily in the shape we needed to be," 20th-year Harvard coach David Fish '72 said. The team is committed to doing that this year."

The Crimson will have to do that without the serves and services of the 1993 and 1995 EITA Player of the year, Andrew Rueb '95. Rueb--a solid singles and doubles player--was undefeated at the number-one singles position in league play last year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

However, things aren't as dire as they might sound, since senior co-captain Todd Meringoff is returning from an injury that kept him out of the majority of last season. Meringoff, who won the Rolex Championships in the fall of 1992 and 1993, should certainly pick up a lot of the slack, as will others.

"You ask each guy to see if he can add an additional 10 percent," Fish said. "Andrew was motivated and he set a great example, and in some way, each of these guys has learned from him."

Veterans include seniors Daniel Chung and Adam Valkin; juniors Mitty Arnold--an NCAA Tournament doubles qualifier along with Rueb--and co-captain Josh Hausman.

Sophomores Philip Tseng--the EITA Rookie of the Year--Thomas Blake and Brandon Bethea should also see significant playing time, as might up to seven freshmen.

One area for improvement on Harvard is the doubles play. Although the three matches make up only one point in the best-of-seven format (six singles matches count one point each), Harvard struggled in that department last season.

"Last year we didn't quite have that punch," Fish said.

While the spring schedule comprises most of the year's matches, the indoor fall campaign is crucial for Harvard in garnering national attention.

The foul New England weather (if you don't believe that now, wait until December) soils a lot more than Harvard's uniforms. It costs the team chances to play top-quality competition outdoors, which it would do if it were located in sunny California.

So these indoor tournaments are Harvard's best shot to make itself a national name.

The first competition for the Crimson this fall is the Yale Invitational--an individual tournament--on September 22-24, which Harvard's players could have little trouble winning. Fish has other ideas.

"I would like to see [the younger players] in a higher bracket," Fish said. "I'd rather see them lose early and see better competition so they can learn. It's a chance to see our guys under some pressure."

After that comes the biggest event of the fall for the Crimson, the ECAC Team Championships. The winner of that tourney, along with Miami, receives an invitation to the National Indoor Team Championships in February, a tournament where Harvard can cash in ranking points if it should defeat some top-quality competition.

MEN'S TENNIS

Record: 17-7

EITA: 9-0

Coach: David Fish '72

Captains: Todd Meringoff '96, Josh Hausman '97

Key Returnees: Mitty Arnold '97, Thomas Blake '98, Philip Tseng '98

Key Loss: Andrew Rueb '95

Powerhouse Miami, by way of its Big East affiliation, is technically if not geographically part of the northeast region. While the Hurricanes might have an unfair advantage over their northeastern foes, the Crimson should learn a lot when the two schools meet in April.

"[Admitting them to the Northeast] was a pretty controversial decision last year," Fish said, "but it's great to have a team of that caliber come up."

If Harvard wins that match, then that's gravy. The Crimson needs to learn from its mistakes and be that much better prepared when the NCAA Tournament comes in May.

But for now, conditioning and the ECACs are the keys. Harvard possesses many talented players, and the competition for playing time has already begun.

"We have a number of guys who can make contributions," Fish said. "They are a very encouraging group."