The Harvard men's tennis team got in some much-needed tune-up work in anticipation of next week's ECAC championships, showcasing some strong individual performances at the Hurricane Invitational this weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, freshman Nivedita Jerath made the final of the "B" flight at the UNC Invitational, as the women opened their 1999 campaign in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Harvard men

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Seven teams, all of which were ranked nationally as of last spring, competed in the flighted singles and doubles tournament, including Harvard opponents Southern Methodist, Tulsa and Texas Christian.

"The weekend was exactly what we wanted," said Harvard Coach Dave Fish. "We got to play good, tough, well-trained players, got to see the results of the things we've been working on and see what we still have in front of us to

learn."

On Friday, the Crimson tied the SMU Mustangs, which were ranked No. 11 last year, four-and-four, sweeping the doubles but taking only one of five singles matches. Senior co-captain Joe Green paired up with junior Andrew Styperek to defeat Gerard Mulas and Genius Chidzikwe 8-6 at No. 1 doubles. Freshman Dave Lingman, playing in his first intercollegiate match, teamed with sophomore William Lee to beat Ryan Mauck and Keith Orie 8-4, and the sweep was completed by juniors Mike Rich and Anthony Barker, who defeated Alexis Rudzinski and Lee Oporto 8-5 at No. 3 doubles.

Singles for Harvard was a different story. Only Mike Rich at No. 5 won, defeating Keith Orie 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Mulas defeated Lee 6-3, 6-1, and Lee's partner Lingman lost to Rudzinski 6-3, 6-4. At No. 2, Green was defeated by Chidzikwe in two sets, and Ryan Mauck beat Barker 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

"I think our doubles really improved and now we need to turn our focus toward singles," Andrew Styperek said. "We knew that doubles was going to be a factor this fall, and the work that we put in over the past few weeks is starting to pay off."

Against Tulsa on Saturday, the top two doubles teams let the Crimson down with slow starts and even worse finishes. Sean Monk and Shri Sudhakar of the Hurricane defeated the No.1 team of Green and Styperek 8-4, and Steve Timperley paired up with Juan Bertoldi to defeat Lee and Lingman 8-4. The only bright spot was Rich and Barker's come-from-behind victory over the team of Mike Nammar and Micah Zomer 8-5 at No. 3.

The Hurricane also took four of the seven singles matches. Green, switching to No. 1, played aggressively from the baseline and defeated Dane McGregor 7-6, 6-4. Lee, who dropped down to No.2 on Saturday, suffered another tough loss, splitting the first two sets against Sudhakar, but getting blown out in the third 6-1. Styperek and Lingman's matches at Nos. 3 and 4 paralleled each other. Both took the first set, only to drop the next two. Monk defeated Styperek 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, while Timperley beat Lingman 3-6, 6-1, 6-1. On the plus side, Harvard took the No. 6 and 7 singles, with Rich winning again 6-2, 6-0 against Zomer, and freshman Joel Dechant, playing in his first intercollegiate match, defeated Nammer 6-3, 6-4.

Dechant and his fellow freshman teammates came up big Sunday, when Harvard took on the Texas Christian Horned Frogs. At No. 4 singles, Lingman put on a show. After being down a break in the third set against Sebastian Iannaeillo, Lingman fought back to win the set 7-5 for a final of 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Oli Choo, another freshman, overcame an injury last week in Providence to dispatch Justin Gagnon 6-1, 6-2. Dechant won for the second day in a row, overpowering Michael Leonard 6-4, 6-4.

The Crimson upperclassmen had a much tougher time. Green took an early lead against top player Trace Fielding, but ended up losing 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Lee also lost in three, 3-6, 6-3, 3-2 to Petr Koula. Rounding out the singles, the Horned Frogs' Jimmy Haney defeated Styperek 6-0, 6-4. Green and Styperek lost their doubles, 8-3, to Fielding and Koula, while the team of Rich and Barker, which was promoted to No. 2, also was beaten. The only Harvard doubles victory came from the brand-new combination of Lee and Oli Choo, who disposed of Gagnon and Leonard 8-2.

The team still has a long way to go before matching last year's success. This was the Crimson's first tournament against nationally competitive opponents, and the best it could do was a split. However, Green had a positive take on the weekend's tough matches.

"This weekend was good preparation for the upcoming ECAC's next weekend in Princeton," Green said. "It gave us necessary singles matches, especially for the freshman to get an opportunity to rub shoulders with national level competition."

Once again, co-captain and No. 1 player John Doran did not play. He also sat out last week's tournament in Providence.

The results from the last weekend do not count towards Harvard's overall team record. However, each match counts towards an individual player's ITA ranking.

"We're starting to come together as a team, with all the new players and doubles combinations," Rich said. "I thought we compete hard all weekend and showed poise on the courts."

The Crimson will need all that poise and team spirit next week in Princeton for their first big tournament. The ECAC fall championships are taking place Oct. 8-11 at Princeton University.

Harvard women

The women's team was also in action in its first tournament of the season at Chapel Hill, N.C. in the UNC Invitational. Players were from most of the top 20 schools, including Wake Forest, William and Mary, Richmond, and Virginia Commonwealth. Freshman Nivedita Jerath, playing in her first intercollegiate tournament, finished second in the "B" flight, losing the final to Andrea Cowlter of William and Mary 7-6, 1-6, 6-4.

"It was really close, a really tough match," Jerath said. "I wasn't nervous, though, I was goofing around, and I'm always smiling."

The eight women Harvard sent to UNC did well for their first tournament. Sophomore Andrea Magyera was happy for the practice and experience.

"It was a pretty good warmup," Magyera said. "It definitely showed our depth as a young team."

Next week, the team travels to Providence for the Brown Invitational before the ECAC championships in Princeton in two weeks.