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Seniors, Rookies Star For M. Tennis

Harvard men’s tennis co-captain David Lingman spent the offseason working on his fitness, trying to take his game up a notch. Many of his teammates think he has reached that next level after witnessing his 6-2, 6-2 pummeling of Brown’s Adil Shamasdin to win the top draw of this weekend’s Harvard Fall Invitational.

Lingman dominated play throughout the tournament and didn’t drop a single set on his way to the championship.

Harvard coach David Fish ’72 was impressed with the offseason conditioning of Lingman and senior Mark Riddell. He believes fitness allows a player to have more options and make better choices on the court.

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all,” Fish quipped.

During the offseason, Riddell practiced on clay courts to improve his movement. He believes fitness training is a critical step in the evolution of a player.

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“I expected Lingman to win the final, because he has been playing really well throughout this whole tournament,” Riddell said after Lingman’s win over Shamasdin.

In the final, Shamasdin was unable to keep up with Lingman, who used great placement and played strong defense as Shamasdin committed numerous unforced errors. According to Lingman, Shamasdin played well in spurts, but was unable to maintain a high level of play throughout the match.

To some, the real final was on Saturday, when Lingman and Riddell—who often play as a doubles team and are hitting partners—squared off in a semifinal. Lingman prevailed 6-2, 6-3 in a match that was closer than the score indicates.

“Mark has improved a lot, and David put in a lot of time into his game over the offseason, all of which bodes well for us this season,” Fish said.

Lingman commented that it is unfortunate that he and Riddell always seem to end up on the same side of the draw.

Another major development for the Crimson was the encouraging performance of the team’s newest members.

Freshman Jack Li displayed both poise and toughness in winning the first-round consolation tournament, 6-4, 6-4 over Brown’s Kris Goddard.

After taking the first set, Li trailed 3-4 in the second before using his strong serve and backhand to win three straight games to close out the match.

Li admitted he was nervous playing in his first college tournament, but cited Fish and his teammates as having helped his focus.

“This is a team of great, talented guys who have helped me assimilate to collegiate tennis,” Li said.

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