The first step of any journey is usually the toughest to take. Ivy League tennis is no exception.

A year after a disappointing split on the grueling Columbia and Cornell road trip, the No. 40 Harvard men's tennis team began its league season this past weekend by playing host to the two New York Ivies at the Beren Tennis Center.

Unlike last year's stumble, the Crimson got off on the right foot with two gritty wins, including a 4-3 victory over Columbia, to begin Ivy competition with a 2-0 record.

Harvard will continue down the road to its 16th Ivy title in 20 years when the Crimson heads south to take on Penn and Princeton next weekend.

Harvard 4, Columbia 3

Revenge may have been difficult last Saturday for Harvard, but the eventual 4-3 triumph over Columbia probably made it all the more pleasing.

Last season, the Crimson had its hopes of an Ivy title effectively dashed by the Lions in New York. Harvard lost 4-3 on Columbia's clay courts last April, en route to a 5-2 Ivy record that kept the Crimson out of its usual berth in the NCAA Tournament.

This past weekend, though, the Harvard men were sure to avenge last year's close loss with an equally close win.

Harvard started the day strong by sweeping the doubles portion of the match from Columbia. Junior Dalibor Snyder and freshman Chris Chiou scored the first victory of the match at No. 3 doubles over Columbia's Mark Grae and Peter Holick, 8-5. Chiou was filling in for Snyder's usual partner, sophomore Oli Choo, and it marked the first time since October that Chiou and Dalibor have played together.

Crimson co-captain Anthony Barker and freshman George Turner combined for a solid 8-5 win in No. 1 doubles against the Lions' top combination of Akram Zaman and Pavel Jefferson. Freshman Mark Riddell and junior William Lee completed the doubles sweep by taking out Oscar Chow and Donny Opici at No. 2.

Facing a 1-0 deficit in the match, the Lions cranked up the intensity and stormed back in singles. Although both squads had three first set wins, the Lions were able to push two of Harvard's first set wins into a third set.

Harvard split the two matches that did not go into a third set. Freshman Ryan Browne, who was hobbled this week in practice due to an injury sustained over Spring Break, dispatched Jefferson, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 6. Despite a solid doubles victory earlier in the day, Lee fell to Zaman, 6-4, 7-6, at No. 2 singles.

Barker gave the Crimson a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead in the match by dismissing Holick, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 at No. 4. However, the Lions, far from rolling over, tried to claw back into contention at the No. 5 slot.

Columbia sophomore Steve Millerman was up by two breaks on Riddell in the No. 5 position and looked to bring the Lions back within striking distance. However, Riddell slowly chipped away at Millerman's lead and brought the game to 4-5 in the third game.

With Millerman serving for the match, Riddell was able to break through and take the final three games to win the match 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. Riddell's patient triumph sealed the match win for Harvard at 4-1.

With the match in hand, the remaining two Crimson players-freshmen Cliff Nguyen and George Turner-dropped their contests to arrive at the final 4-3 tally.

Harvard 5, Cornell 2

On Friday, the Crimson formally started its Ivy season by cruising past the Cornell Big Red, 5-2, on the hardcourts of the Beren Center.

The match began with the doubles pairings, and the Crimson took the doubles point by wnning two of the three contests.

At No. 1 doubles, the duo of Mike Halperin and Stefan Paulovic defeated Barker and Turner, 8-5. Lee and Riddell equalized the match with an 8-5 win over Pat Hagan and Russ Gimelstob in the No. 2 slot. Rounding out the doubles action, Dalibor and Choo coasted past Zach Gallin and Mike Mestel 8-4.

The singles portion of the overall match was unusually quick, as all six contests were decided in two games. The first victor of the day in singles was Riddell, who posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Mestel at No. 6 Barker finished subsequently, adding another Harvard tally in the win column, by sweeping Julian Cheng 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 5 position.

Up 3-0 in the match, the Crimson needed only one more singles win to lock up its first Ivy victory. Cornell, however, made the Crimson put in some extra work for the win.

Big Red No. 3 Gallin swept Choo 6-2, 6-2 and No. 1 Halperin edged Nguyen 7-6, 7-5 to pull Cornell within one game at 3-2. Despite the tenacious comeback, though, Lee finished off the Big Red with his 6-0, 6-4 win over Chris Lewis at No. 2.

Crimson freshman Turner wrapped up the action by besting Paulovic 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 4 position.