Netmen Claim Split Decision Weekend

For the Harvard men's tennis team this weekend, it took two to tango.

Playing host to the New England Tennis Championships, the Crimson swept the doubles matches but fell short in the singles draw of the two-day, hurricane-shortened tournament.

In a surprising set of events, the heavily favored netmen singles contingent was upset by players who were not expected to make it past the semifinals.

"I think the results of the tournament are indicative of all our faults," Harvard Coach Dave Fish said of the somewhat disheartening showing.

The tournament marked the team's first major outing since the Crimson lost in the opening round of the NCAA Championships in May.

The biggest surprise of the weekend occured in the A singles division, where top-seeded Cantab senior Larry Scott lost his opening match to the draw's sixth seed--from Boston College--in three sets.

Scott and sophomore Arkie Engle did manage to get revenge on B.C. as they breezed to an easy 6-2, 6-2 victory over the Eagles in the A doubles finals.

Meanwhile, a pair of Brown freshmen were unexpectedly squaring off in the A singles finals.

But the doubles draw was all Crimson. In addition to Scott and Engle's victory, Peter Palandjian and Darryl Laddin snagged the B title with a convincing, 6-3, 7-6, win over Bill Benjes and Andy Thurstone of Yale.

Harvard captured the C doubles crown as well as Paul Panlandjian and Bill Stanley beat a Dartmouth duo with a pair of 6-3s.

The B and C singles slates proved a family affair gone astray.

Peter and Paul Palandjian advanced to the finals of their respective divisions only to meet defeat at the hands of Yale and Dartmouth.

Peter lost in the B finale to Benjes in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, while Paul lost a long, fierce match to Des Hussey of Dartmouth, 6-7 (9-7), 6-2, 6-3.

Even with the doubles sweep, Fish was reluctant to call the tournament a success. "We were a little over-confident and our poor attitude hurt us," Fish said.

The Crimson coach also cited the tourney's unusually competitive field and weather-related problems as other factors accounting for his team's lackluster performance.

Harvard's next major tournament is the ECACs at Princeton on October 11. Fish predicted that the importance of this event will bring forth the necessary mental preparation his squad lacked this weekend.