Yale Edges Netmen In Nightmarish Finale

It was deja-vu.

For the second year in a row, the Harvard men's tennis match against Yale came down to the last match. Unfortunately for the Crimson, the Elis pulled out the last match for the second straight time.

"It was deja-vu," Roger Berry said, "that it went the same way. It was like a nightmare."

The netmen dropped a 5-4 heartbreaker Saturday afternoon at Cullman Courts in New Haven, dropping their record to 8-8 (2-2 EITA).

The loss ends any hopes of the Crimson making the NCAA's this year and winning the Ivy title.

In the number-one singles match, Harvard Co-Captain Arkie Engle dropped a tough 7-5, 6-3 decision to Craig Kennedy. Berry rallied to tie the set at 5-5 after falling behind, 5-2 in the first set.

At number-three singles, Mark Leschly was invovled in a three-set marathon. After Leschly won the first set, 6-3, Yale's Bill Benjes rallied to win the final two sets and match.

At number-four singles, Roger Berry, who has been playing excellent tennis, pulled out a three-set victory over Tim Goudae.

Berry won the first set by a 6-2 decision, but Goudae bounced back to capture the second set by the same score. In the final and deciding set, Berry rallied from a 2-1 deficit to capture a 6-3 decision.

In the number-two singles match, Jon Cardi, the freshman sensation, recorded a straight set victory over Jon Kim, 6-4, 6-4. Cardi rallied from 3-0 defecits in the first and second sets to win the match.

At number-five singles, Ravi Kumar lost a three-set match to Tim Theobald, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2, while Rob Soni pulled off a three-set victory to tie the match at 3-3 going into doubles.

Engle and Leschly quickly crushed Kennedy and Kim in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. Their victory gave the Crimson a 4-3 lead with two matches to go.

Harvard Co-Captain Paul Palandjian and Kumar stormed to a 6-3 victory in the first set over Benjes and Cam Rajen, but the Yale duo rallied to win the final two sets, 7-5, 6-4 and the match.

Yale's victory at number-three doubles tied the match at 4-4 with the number-two doubles left to decide the victor.

At number-two doubles, Berry and Cardi dropped a straight set decision to Goudae and Sibold, clinching the match for the Elis. In the second set, the duo had a 5-2 lead with a break, but the Goudae and Sibold rallied to tie the match at 5-5. Each team held its serve to send the match into a tiebreaker. But in the tiebreaker, Goudae and Sibold pulled off a 7-4 decision to win the set and match.

"It makes me sick to lose to Yale," Berry said.