Netmen Overwhelm Hapless Quakers

It probably wasn't even that much fun.

The Harvard men's tennis team barely broke into a sweat Saturday afternoon in overcast Philadelphia, surely wishing they were on the sunny banks of the Charles instead of on the courts against a hapless Pennsylvania squad.

The Crimson 9-0 sweep came so easily that only one of the six singles matches necessitated a tie-breaking third set--barely enough action to talk about on the three-hour ride home.

Just freshman Dave Beckman, playing fourth seed for the first time, faced a feisty opponent, eliminating Penn's Glennys Merritt in a see-saw 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 match.

Beckman's victory was particularly sweet because Merritt has traditionally harassed the Crimson, almost defeating such Crimson stalwarts as juniors Warren Grossman and Mike Terner on previous occasions.

Beckman--a netman who was one of the nation's top junior players before donning Crimson shorts--has been steadily commanding the respect of observers within the Ivy League tennis community. After beginning the season on Harvard's "B" squad. Beckman has since established himself as a reliable varsity performer with a 3-1 record.

Harvard Coach Dave Fish said yesterday that the rising star has "been playing very, very well"--at times overpowering and intimidating.

Responding to his coach's praise, Beckman said, "I've no been playing better matches, I've been finding more confidence and experience."

Junior Howard Sands has struggled some this season, playing inconsistently on occasions, including his Friday loss to Columbia's Andy Caulfield. But the All-American regained his form by mauling Quaker Eric Riley.

Fish said Sands seemed to "run harder against Riley," adding, "once he gets his legs back, that's when he'll start to oppress other people again."

In remaining singles competition on Saturday second-seeded senior Captain Adam Beren crushed Penn's Rich Schafer, 6-1, 6-1, while the Crimson's third-ranked senior Alex Seaver ran past Dave Friedman, also giving up only one game each set. In addition, fifth-seeded Rob Wheeler and sixth-seeded Rob Loud enjoyed effortless straight-set victories over Steve Hazen and Adam Deakin, respectively.

Little Doubles Trouble

Only the match which pitted Harvard's number-one pair of Sands and Beren against the Quaker Riley Friedman duo caused any trouble in doubles competition. After dropping the first set in dual sluggish performances, Sands and Beren quickly turned the tables and took the match, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

"Penn played excellent in the first set," Fish said. "Then our guys made some good tactical moves and overpowered them."

The Penn victory capped a two-for-two weekend which saw the netmen handily defeat Columbia Friday. The Crimson victory pushed its season mark at 3-0 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association and raised its overall season's standing to 9-7.

After the Crimson downed Columbia on Friday, Fish said. "I think we're doing pretty well. We're on the schedule that we need to be on."