Netwomen Edge UNH As Darkness Curtails Play

Absent players, tiebreakers, and three set matches that stretched on past dinnertime almost turned an expected jaunt in New Hampshire into a disaster as the Harvard women's tennis team barely squeezed past a surprisingly strong UNH squad, 5-3.

In the only impressive win of the day for the lackluster Crimson, top seed Martha Roberts devoured opponent Judy Luber bagels and breadsticks. Playing number six, Lisa Greco provided one more straight set victory, beating Pam Dey 3 and 3, before the tiebreakers and the gloom began.

Libby Pierpont held the dubious distinction of participating in the longest match of the day (or night). In the second position, she and Pam Smith split two close sets before the black curtain fell. Improvising, the coaches agreed to play a nine-point tiebreaker to end the marathon, five games into the third set.

Pierpont grabbed the tiebreaker 5-1, and strumbled away the victor. The final score: 7-5, 4-6, 3-2.

Captain Katie Ditzler, competing at number three, eeked by Kathy Bourne in a match with no less than two tiebreakers. In the final set, with the tiebreaker knotted at 4, the UNH player double faulted to give the win to Ditzler.

Playing in the fourth slot, Leslie Miller was not as lucky, losing her tiebreaker, 4-5, to drop the match to Meighan Dignam, 4-6, 6-7. Marjorie Solomon survived a lengthy contest with Judy Wiles and emerged on top, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3.

In the doubles, Diane Leary and Diana Stone lost to the UNH duo of Jeale and Berube, 2-6, 3-6. The second Crimson doubles team suffered a similar fate as Carol Baker and Harriet Posner succumbed to Dancker and Bragdon, 2-6, 3-6.

"The darkness was certainly a factor," manager Robin Worth said. "At the end of Libby's match it was so dark they couldn't do anything fancier than find the ball and try to return it," she added.

Ditzler described the whole affair as "really unpleasant" and "nightmarish." "We were just too cocky going into it," she said, and added that "it was a humbling experience."

"I learned a lot as a new coach," Coach Peter Felske commented. "I really miscalculated UNH's strength. I need to get the whole group out there for every match we play."

"That match made me look forward to the end of the season," Ditzler said. Hopefully the women in white can end the season on a more encouraging note after their home match against B.C. this Thursday at 3:00.