The Harvard men's tennis team learned that it's going to be a little bit tougher this Ivy League season.

Last year, the Crimson ripped through the Ivies, going undefeated, even blanking Cornell, Brown, Penn and Dartmouth, 7-0. Of course, that was with star James Blake, who is now competing alongside Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Harvard went into this weekend, however, as an underdog against red-hot Columbia and nationally ranked Cornell. Dropping an extremely close 4-3 decision on Friday against the Lions, the Crimson rebounded the next afternoon, taking out the Big Red 4-3.

Harvard 4, Cornell 3

After making the long trip from New York City and arriving in Ithaca at 2:00 a.m., the Crimson hit the courts at noon to take on Cornell. The Big Red (11-5, 1-2 Ivy) were ranked No. 74 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, two spots below the Crimson.

The doubles teams hit the courts first. With junior Mike Rich unable to play due to a death in the family, Harvard experimented with the No. 3 team of junior Anthony Barker and sophomore William Lee. The duo lost, 9-7, but Harvard was able to get the doubles point by winning at Nos. 1 and 2. Co-captain John Doran and sophomore Cillie Swart won 8-6 at the top spot, while freshman Dave Lingman and the other co-captain, Joe Green, won 9-7.

In the singles, Barker finished up his match first at No. 5, defeating Mike Mestel 7-5, 6-3. Lingman then beat Joe Chrisman, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 2 to give Harvard a 3-0 lead. The spectators at Reis Tennis Center then turned their attention to No. 6, where Swart was battling Carl Thorsen. Swart saved three set points during a first-set tiebreaker, then easily won the second for a 7-6 (8), 6-3 win and a Harvard victory.

Columbia 4, Harvard 3

Playing in Columbia is always a humbling and odd experience. The only team in the country to play its home games on clay, Columbia also plays in the close confines of "the Bubble," which has only four courts as opposed to the customary six.