Brown Freshman Terminates Evans' Perfect Season, 7-5, 6-4

It's lonely at the top, they say.

It's even lonelier when you're at the top and you lose your first match of the season in the semis of the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament.

That's just what happened to Harvard's wonder-player Elizabeth Evans yesterday at Palmer Dixon courts. Evans, ranked number one in the East, was upset 7-6, 6-4 by Brown freshman Stephanie Fusco in a tense duel.

Evans, whose jet-propelled strokes make any fan sorry for the ball, not to mention the opponent, had all her power intact but none of her usual poise and timing.

"Elizabeth is a fighter, and the one thing a fighter shouldn't do is tense up. "Harvard women's tennis Coach Don Usher said. "This year she made a deeper commitment to tennis than even before in her life-when the stakes are that high it's harder to keep cool. She's just learning to keep cool, "he added.

Fusco foiled Evans' aggressive playing with a steady Chris Evert-Lloyd style back-court game, returning everything Evans could dish out.

Frustration

Evan's frustration mounted visibly in the second set. After throwing her racket at the wall in frustration, she handed the match over by double faulting twice at 4-4 to give Fusco the crucial lead in the 10th game.

Crimson second seed Robin Boss also bowed, falling in a three setter to nationally ranked Julie Park of Dartmouth.

But Harvard, undefeated in dual meets this season, proved its team depth by grabbing four slots-third and fourth seeds, and two doubles teams-in today's finals at noon.