Crimson Downs Penn Netmen, 6-3; Briggs and Barnett Pace Victory

The Harvard tennis team took its first big step towards the Ivy League title yesterday by beating Penn, 6-3, in Philadelphia:

"It was a good win considering that we were playing on Penn's hard surface courts," captain Bill Washauer said. "They were strong at the top, but not quite as good as we had expected."

Playing at number one, Washauer was unable to handle powerful John Adams on his home court. "Hard courts put the emphasis of the game on serving, returning serve and net play," Washauer said.

Adams, who reached the finals in the NCAA Indoor Championships this winter, also has a strong topspin forehand which is particularly effective on hard surface courts.

Harvard's singles strength was most evident in the middle matches. Joe Cavanagh won easily at number two, 6-4, 6-0. Dave Fish and Randy Barnett also came up with impressive victories.

The crucial singles match was at number six where Peter Briggs came from behind to beat Bill MacDinell, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2. MacDonell, a former Canadian Junior Singles champion, has only been playing tennis for ten days due to the overlap with the hockey season.

In the other close singles match, Bill Brock lost in three sots at number five.

Doubles Depth

Harvard's doubles depth put the match on ice, Cavanagh and Fish lost at first doubles to Adams and Chris Sadkowski, but Briggs and Barnett won at second doubles, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6, and the Crimson's third team of Washauer and TomLoring won, 7-6, 6-4.

Loring, who played extremely well for the second match in a row, could well be a permanent fixture as Washauer's partner.

Bird, Plane, or Frog

Despite the strong showing against Penn, the Crimson is still the underdog in its Friday match at Columbia and a Saturday match at Princeton. If Harvard wins both matches, the Ivy League crown is almost assured.