1996

Sports Statistics

Record: 20-6, 6-1 Ivy

Ivy Finish: Second

Coach: Gordon Graham

Other Key Players: Captain Gina Majmudar; Junior Gabriela Hricko; Sophomore Ivy Wang

1997

Some resentment must be building against the Tribe. For the second straight year, the Harvard women's tennis season was halted, and its national hopes dashed thanks to the William & Mary juggernaut.

At the Eastern Regional Championship on the campus of Brown University, the Crimson was taken down in the final match, 5-3. The No. 1 team in the East, which boasts the nations' eighth-ranked collegiate player, Lauren Nikolaus, and the fourth-ranked doubles tandem of Nikolaus and Johanna Sones proved its worth.

The Crimson entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed--after cruising to a 6-1 record in the Ivy League--and had no problem shrugging off its first-round opponent, Virginia Tech, 5-0. The competition became much more stiff afterwards as Harvard was pitted against No. 2-seeded Alabama in the semifinals. Coming off a 5-0 win of its own against Boston College, the Crimson Tide was on a mission.

But Harvard wanted William & Mary.

In a gutsy, come-from-behind, five-hour match, the Crimson pulled out the 5-4 upset over Alabama to advance to the final round.

A scare early on saw sophomore Ivy Wang fall in a three-set thriller (2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) to Bali Camino and Rosemary She--in the No. 2 singles position--lose to Dominique Glinzer, 7-5, 6-2. Gina Majmudar also fell victim to the Alabama attack, leaving the fate of both the match and the Crimson season in the hands in the final two singles spots.

Fortunately for the Crimson, junior second team All-Ivy selection Gabriela Hricko (6-0, 4-6, 6-2) and freshman Vedica Jain (4-6, 6-4, 6-1) posted two crucial three-set wins, while junior Julia Kim (6-3, 6-2) added another to bring the Crimson within striking distance.

"Going into the match we knew that we could do it, but after that going down 3-0 from the start, we began having doubts," Majmudar said. "The No. 5 and 6 singles knew that they had to win for us to have a chance."