Tigers Upset Netmen, 5-4,On Five Singles Victories

PRINCETON,N.J., April 29--The weather was warm and sunny but the Harvard tennis team turned ice cold in the singles play, dropping five of six individual matches to give underdog Princeton a 5-4 upset win here today. The loss, Harvard's second in Ivy play, crushed the Crimson's hopes for a third straight League title.

Harvard's only win in singles was a convincing 6-1,6-4 triumph by captain Brian Davis at third singles.

John Levin was unable to find a tarnish in the polished game of Princeton ace Les Buck and bowed 6-1, 7-5 at number one. Bernie Adelsberg lost speedily, 6-4, 6-3, in the second slot. Previously undefeated Rocky Jarvis (four) and fellow sophomore Steve Devereux (six) also were surprising straight set losses.

Number Five

Down 4-1, Harvard appeared headed for the second singles point needed to carry the decision into the doubles, the Crimson's usual strong trump. Number five man Jose Gonzalez, Harvard's most dependable performer for the past two seasons, had won his first set and led 5-3 in the second.

But the Crimson junior missed by inches on two match points and lost the set, 8-6. His confidence shaken, Gonzalez lost authority on critical services and volleys and lost the deciding set, 7-5. This defeat, which was Gonzalez's first ever in League competition, clinched the Tiger upset.

Harvard won the three doubles matches with ease. The Levin-Jarvis and Adelsberg- Davis tandems yielded only five games apiece in straight set wins at one and two. Senior Dave Hodges' was particularly impressive teaming with Gonzalez to win third doubles, 6-4,1-6,6-3.

The Crimson met frustration again in the fifteen-point match for the Big Three championship, losing 8-7. Harvard picked up singles wins from Bruce Wiegand (seven), Hodges (nine),and Kent Parrot (ten), but couldn't pick up the deciding eighth point in either the fourth or fifth doubles.

The Harvard freshmen lost 8-1 to a powerful pride of Tiger Cubs, which had beaten the Princeton varsity, also 8-1, the day before. As Harvard coach Jack Barna by left Tigertown, he could only think, "wait till last year!"