Masterson Second in ECAC Tennis

In a preview of what promises to be the most exciting Eastern Tennis League race in years, the Columbia tennis team won the ECAC championships held at Princeton over the weekend.

Columbia won the tournament last year, but finished tied for third with Penn behind Harvard Navy and undefeated Princeton in the regular spring season. With a squad bolstered by two outstanding freshmen, the Lions bounced back to repeat as ECAC champions by amassing 38 team points.

Penn was second with 33, and Harvard finished third with 32. Navy was a distant fourth with 24 points, and Princeton was barely in sight, finishing seventh with 17 1/2 points.

In "A" singles, sophomore Harris Masterson survived a very bad draw to make the finals before giving way to fatigue and Penn's John Adams, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0.

Masterson won three third set victories on his way to the finals, the most hard fought coming in the quarter finals over top-seeded Dirk Duggan of Cornell, 6-3, 3-6, 11-9. Masterson then went on to beat Penn's Larry Loeb in the semis, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. In "A" doubles, Masterson and Ken Lindner lost to Penn's Adams and Sadowski, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Co-captain Dave Fish and sophomore Gardy Robotham won the "B" doubles by beating the Navy team in straight sets. Fish also won the "B" consolation in singles.

The key to Columbia's victory was its depth. Last year Mark Massey played first singles in the match against Harvard; this year he couldn't even break into the top six. "Columbia is loaded," Harvard tennis coach Jack Barnaby said. "They have enough talent to put up a good fight against some of the Western colleges," he added.

Columbia's Bobby Odaz made it to the "A" division finals last year, but this time he was in the "B" finals, where he lost to fellow Columbian Henry Fagel, a freshman.

Bobby Binns beat Harvard's Joe Cavanagh at number two singles last year, but he entered this tournament listed at number five. He lost in the "C" division finals to fellow teammate Henry Bunis, another freshman.

"The Ivy League has seen players like Adams and Masterson before, but as far as depth goes, this is the strongest its ever been," Barnaby said. "A couple of years ago players like Randy Barnett in "B" singles and Tom Loring in "C" would have yawned their way through the finals. This year they didn't even win."

Although Columbia looks over-whelming on paper, Barnaby is very happy with Harvard's prospects this coming spring. Co-captain Chris Nielson, who will be back from a term off, was an EITA doubles champion in 1970, and he will add depth in singles.

Barnaby is also very pleased with freshman John Inguard, who won the first set of his match against Binns before getting cramps when the match was moved inside.

Not Until Spring

The tennis team won't start playing matches again until its southern trip over spring vacation. But Masterson, Lindner, Barnett, Loring and Inguard will practice all winter on the recently resurfaced Palmer-Dixon indoor courts.

"Lindner and Inguard will have much more experience by next spring, and once we get our doubles straightened out. I think we'll have a good chance of winning the league." Barnaby said.