Courting an Ivy Championship

Featuring a slew of talented freshmen recruits and an experienced rookie coach, the Harvard women's tennis team just may come of age in the 1981 fall season.

For years the netwomen have lagged behind Princeton and Yale, the two dominant teams in the Ivy League, but the gap has been closing fast. Last year in dual match play, Harvard barely lost to both the Tigers and the Elis by scores of 5-4.

This year, new coach Don Usher said last week, "Harvard is without a doubt more competitive than in the past." Californians Elizabeth Evans and Erica Smith are two newcomers who will make a big difference. Both have been nationally ranked and Evans is a two-time national junior doubles champion. Freshman Debbie Kaufman of Newton is joining the Crimson with similar experience in national competition.

Other new players who show promise are Dorie Klissas of Long Island, Tracy Kunichika of Hawaii, and Deanne Loonin of San Diego.

In addition to the top six recruits, eight women are returning from last year's winning squad, including four who lettered. Leading the way is junior Tiina Bougas, the reigning Ivy League champion, who had held down the number one spot at Harvard for the past two years. Having been kept off the courts for part of the summer due to illness, Bougas will have to struggle to retain her number one position.

Aside from Bougas and the top recruits, sophmore Maria Pe will also be vying for the top slot. Coming off a strong year on the varsity at number two, Pe was elected captain by her teammates last spring. Also returning is sophomore Erica Schulman, who anchored down the number three position last year, and Debbie Kalish, who played in the sixth slot.

Attempting to mold a championship team with this abundance of talent will be Usher. Having worked with professionals such as Anne Smith and Marjorie Blackwood, Usher has a strong background in women's tennis, and he is no stranger to Harvard's program.

Usher assisted coach Dave Fish in taking the men's varsity to the top of the Ivy League last year and has also coached Bougas on a local level.

Bougas gives Usher high marks on his coaching ability. "I can't think of anyone who knows the game better than Don Usher," she said last week.

Knowing that his team is laden with so much talent it is difficult for Usher to avoid being confident. "Harvard will be one of the most competitive teams in the East this year," Usher freely admits, "and we have the potential to be number one."

The Netwomen open against Penn State September 27 in what should be their toughest dual match of the fall season. The squad will also defend titles at the Greater Boston Championship and two at the Mass. States, two tournaments that Harvard has dominated in recent years.

The team will get its first look at most of its spring competition at the New England Championships beginning October 16. Although Princeton and Penn will not be present, Yale, Dartmouth and Brown will all be fielding solid teams.

One advantage that should help the netwomen throughout the year is their depth, a problem that had plagued the team previously. The team is also young, however, as five of the top six players will most likely be freshmen and sophmores.

The Crimson's youth will battle older teams from Princeton and Yale for the Ivy title. Both rivals have enhanced their squads with one prominent newcomer but will otherwise feature mostly veteran players. Princeton freshman Andrea Leand made national headlines recently by conquering second-seated Andrea Jaeger in the U.S. Open and Yale can boast of newcomer Connie Yowell, a former Mass, high school star.

According to Usher, Harvard's fall season will be largely a sorting out period where he can assess his troops in pressure situations. In addition to being armed with plenty of new talent, Usher will have eight new hard-top outdoor tennis courts at his disposal.