Women's Tennis Team Faces Opener

The sparkling new edition of the Harvard women's tennis team opens its brief fall season this afternoon as it takes to the courts against Wellesley.

Sporting four freshmen on the varsity, the Crimson women-in-white will field a much stronger squad than last year's 5-5 team. In a challenge match held yesterday, newcomer Betsy Richmond snatched the number-one slot from sophomore Martha Roberts. Roberts dropped to the second spot, moving returnee Meg Meyer to number three.

Rounding out the singles competitors are two more upstarts, Abby Meiselman, 17th among Florida's juniors, and Kristen Mertz, a high-ranking junior in Pennsylvania.

Although the doubles teams have not been worked out yet, possible starters include captain Katie Ditzler, sophomores Libby Pierpont and Leslie Miller, along with another freshman, Deidre Wilde. Seniors Sally Roberts and Terry Clarke are varsity alternates.

Whippersnappers

"All I can say is that I'm glad these young whippersnappers are on my team," Ditzler said after looking around and surveying all the new faces at practice. "I wouldn't want to have to play against them," she added.

Coach Peter Felske's rookie troops should easily handle today's contest. The Crimson whitewashed Wellesley in last year's opener, 8-0, and the racqueteers should dispose of them just as effortlessly this time around.

There are only three dual matches in the abbreviated fall schedule (Wellesley, Tufts and B.C.) and they are really only warm-ups for the main events of the season -- the GBC's, the Massachusetts State tournament and the New England Intercollegiate championships.

Harvard is the defending GBC and Mass state title holder; only the N.E.s have eluded them. Felske and company want to bring that trophy to Cambridge this year.