Courtmen Victimize Engineers, 9-0

The Harvard tennis team opened its regular season yesterday with a predictable 9-0 victory under the MIT bubble, but it took a spectacular comeback by Harris Masterson at number one to preserve the shut-out.

MIT's Bill Williams has blossomed into one of the top singles players in the East, and after losing the first set in a tie breaker, he took the second, 6-4, and had Masterson 5-2, forty-fifteen in the third.

Williams's strong serves were particularly effective on the hard indoor courts, but with his back against the wall. Masterson began to return them with ease. He survived six match points, and then broke service two more times to win the deciding set. 7-5

Harvard was playing without co-captain Dave Fish, who is sidelined with tendonitis. Fish was first troubled with tennis elbow last spring, when he was playing third singles and second doubles, and he was forced to sit out several squash matches this past winter.

Fish is presently trying out an antiinflamatory drug called indocin, and if it works, he will be back in action within the next four days. But it may be weeks before he can reclaim a spot in the starting line-up.

Even with Fish back in action, Harvard will be only one of five teams contending for the EITA title. "Columbia is definitely the team to beat." Fish said. "The guy who played second singles against me two years ago is now down around number ten."

Harvard's chances to improve on last year's second place finish will depend on the outcome of two away matches this weekend. The Crimson faces the Lions in New York on Friday, and the defending champions at Princeton on Saturday.