Racqueteers Take Home Titles

The Harvard women's tennis team proved once again that it is the class of the Boston area this weekend, swamping all comers at the Greater Boston Championships hosted by MIT.

The netwomen captured five of the six singles titles and all three doubles matches in the seven-team tourney, enough to accumulate nearly double the points of the second-place team, Boston University. The Crimson's lone defeat came at second singles in a hard-fought, three-set match.

Playing at number one singles, junior Tiina Bougas paved the way for Harvard with a 6-2, 6-1 win in the finals against B.U.'s Johanna Sleeper. Bougas played aggressively and showed that her serve--which had deserted her in matches last week--is back in fine form.

"I felt really confident at MIT for the first time in a long time," Bougas said yesterday.

The Crimson's Tracy Kunichika, a Yardling via Hawaii, showed that her game hasn't suffered at the expense of New England's weather. The talented freshman lost only one game en route to copping the number five singles crown.

Harvard's Erica Schulman, Debbie Kaufman and Deanne Loonin all cruised to straight-set finals victories against B.U. opponents, with sophomore Schulman winning at third singles, and the two freshmen triumphing in fourth and sixth positions, respectively.

The netwomen used an altered line-up for doubles play, and showed the advantage of having depth by sweeping the three titles with ease.

The Crimson's hopes of a perfect weekend were dashed--but just barely--by B.U.'s Lesley Sheehan, a top-ranked New England player.

Harvard's Elizabeth Evans, who had not practiced during the week because of a cold, took the first set against Sheehan, 6-4, but then faltered in the next two, 3-6, 4-6. The freshman's style of play, an aggressive serve-and-volley game, worked against her Saturday as Sheehan used consistent baseline play to wear out her rival over the course of the marathon match.