Martire and Bergman lead Harvard’s outstanding sophomore class that has improved significantly since last season and has produced some spectacular performances over the last few months.

“I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we have a year under our belts,” Martire said. “We are much more prepared and not so overwhelmed by the academic and athletic load.”

Many of the sophomores also had difficulty transitioning into the college style of play during their first year.

“Its hard to adjust to college tennis,” Bergman said. “It’s completely different from junior tennis. We’ve all adjusted a lot better this year.”

Susanna Lingman, also a sophomore, played solidly for the Crimson this season before bowing out in the semi-finals of Eastern regionals.

Lingman’s brother David, co-captain of the men’s team, will team up with Riddell in doubles action.

The two have performed well together this season, despite having only played with each other for less than a year.

“Mark and I are great friends,” Lingman said. “He’s the easiest partner I’ve ever had.”

Lingman and Riddell, who were seeded fourth entering regionals, beat the No. 1 team of Adil Shamasdin and Nick Goldberg of Brown in the championship match, 8-6.

They now move on to face Oliver Charroin and Chris Stewart of Arizona State in the first round of nationals today. Charroin and Stewart soundly beat Diego Acuna and Calle Hansen of Pepperdine 8-2 in regionals.

Lingman and Riddell had to come from behind to win in the semifinals and finals last week, and are looking to come out stronger at the outset in Dallas.

“We have had some slow starts,” Lingman said. “We haven’t played our best tennis yet.”

Both have also been hampered by injuries throughout the season.

“Hopefully we will be a bit healthier,” Lingman said. “We barely made it through regionals.”

Lingman and Riddell have spent this week fine-tuning their game in advance of their trip to Dallas.

“Returns are something we need to work on,” Lingman said. “We also have some specific plays that we practice. Overall, we’re solid and pretty ready.”