Racketmen Open Season With 6-3 Win Over Army

The varsity tennis team capped its vacation tour Saturday by rolling to a 6-3 win over an Army team that was supposed to be a top contender for the Eastern Intercollegiate title.

Army, along with Penn and Harvard, was given a chance before the season opener to unseat Princeton--the defending league champion. But the Crimson took four of six singles matches and two out of three in doubles to win, despite the absence of Vic Niederhoffer, last year's number three man.

Frank Ripley, taking over the top position after playing number two last year, ripped off a 6-3, 6-4 win over the top Cadet, Walt Oehriein, Ripley won all three of his college's matches on the Southern tour that preceded the Army match, though he lost earlier in a match with Richmond's Country Club of Virginia.

Chum Steele dropped a three-set match to Oehrlein's brother Richie at number two and Clive Kileff, the prize sophomore from Southern Rhodesia, lost the number three match. But the bottom of the Crimson lineup ripped off three wins, as sophomore Dave Benjamin, captain Sandy Walker, and Dean Peckman all triumphed.

Ripley and Bob Inman, unbeaten in intercollegiate doubles competition, won the top doubles match, while Steele and Peckham took the second. Kileff and Benjamin lost the number three match.

Southern Tour

Coach Jack Barnaby split his 14-man squad into two teams for the Southern tour, and the results were encouraging. After both teams lost their first intercollegiate matches, only a first-team tie with Georgia Tech marred the record.

One team, led by Ripley, Walker, and Inman, dropped a match to Presbyterian but went on to win over Clemson and Georgia and tie Georgia Tech, as Tom James and Terry Robinson provided steady play at the bottom of the ladder.

The other squad, with Steele, Kileff, Benjamin, and Peckham at the top, bowed to Georgia, but beat Clemson and avenged the first team's loss to Presbyterian during the second day's play.

Princeton Beats Miami

But the vacation's play made it clear that Harvard or any other E.I.T.L. team with thoughts of challenging Princeton has its work cut out for it. The Tigers dumped Miami in a weekend match 5-4, ending the Hurricanes' 137-match winning streak and sending a shiver down the spine of every Eastern coach.