They've seen the urban sprawl of Providence, roughed the dust bowl of Oklahoma, and survived the Jersey Turnpike.

Now all the Harvard men's tennis team wants is to come home and play. Luckily for it, this weekend is the Harvard Fall Invitational.

On Friday through Sunday at the Murr Center, the Crimson will take on players from Bowling Green, the University of Colorado, Rutgers, and MIT. The tournament format will be two or three "flighted" singles draws and one doubles draw. Players who drop in the first round will head to a consolation bracket.

Most of the traveling team should be playing this weekend. Co-captain John Doran and freshman Ki-teh Kim are still recovering from injuries and won't play.

After facing nationally ranked opponents in Tulsa two weeks ago and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championships last weekend, the Crimson find this weekend considerably less challenging. None of the opposition boast anyone in upper echelon of the ITA rankings.

"This gives a lot of opportunity for guys who didn't travel with us," said Doran, who still has patella tendonitis. His injury forced him to pull out of this weekend's Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Grand Slam event in Dallas.

The first rounds will be played on Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Murr Center. The singles finals should start at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Since the tournament is in individual play format, the results do not count for Harvard's team record. However, the individual results will reflect on each player's ITA ranking.