Netwomen Lick Green To Sit Atop Ivy Heap

Before yesterday's showdown between Ivy superpowers Harvard and Dartmouth, Crimson women's tennis Coach Ed Krass predicted that the upcoming contest would closely resemble war on the tennis courts.

And sure enough, after the match, the Beren Tennis Courts looked like they had just gone through World War III.

The netwomen (now 5-0 Ivy) walked off the courts yesterday with a 5-4 victory over Dartmouth. The visitors had entered the match with an unblemished Ivy League slate.

The victory leaves Harvard in sole possession of first place in the Ancient Eight and--barring upset--almost guaranteed of an outright league crown.

After going up, 2-1, in doubles yesterday, the Crimson needed to nab three singles matches to clinch the win--and that's exactly what the squad pulled off. Harvard notched victories at number two, five and six singles to clinch its 17th triumph of the season against four losses.

In second doubles, Christina Dragomirescu and Amy deLone had the easiest match of the day, capturing a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Dartmouth's Doris Lee and Kelly Busby.

At third doubles, Cyndy Austrian and Kathy Mulvehal dropped a tough 6-4, 7-5 match. But in one of the biggest matches of the day, if not the season, the first doubles pair of Kristin Bland and Jamie Henikoff pulled off a come-from-behind, third-set victory over Shannon Crockett and Chrissy Kirkmire to give the hosts a 2-1 lead.

After falling behind, 6-5, in the second set, Bland and Henikoff had double match point against them, but they rallied with a deep volley by Bland and a forehand smash by Henikoff to send the match into a tiebreaker.

Harvard pulled out a a 7-2 win the tiebreaker, and took the match, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

At number three singles, Harvard's Jacki Farrell dropped a straight-set decision to Kelly Busby, 6-1, 6-1, bringing the match to a 2-2 deadlock.

But the Crimson recaptured the lead when Mulvehal recorded a straight-set victory over Kirkmire, 6-3, 6-0.

Mulvehal overwhelmed Kirkmire from the start, scoring almost at will in the second set. The sophomore won nine straight points during one stretch of the match.

But the Big Green would not die, as Crockett dealt Harvard Co-Captain Bland a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 loss. Freshman deLone gave the Crimson a little breathing room, however, with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 victory in the number-five singles match, spotting Harvard to a 4-3 lead.

Meanwhile, Henikoff was involved in a battle at number-two singles. And the freshman came through, capturing a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory to clinch Harvard's 32nd straight Ivy victory.

Austrian, playing in her last home match for Harvard, dropped a tough 6-4, 7-5 decision to Busby.

Despite the individual upset yesterday, though, Austrian has brought nothing but good fortune to the Crimson--during her four-year career, the squad has not lost a single Ivy match. "It was the biggest win my life," the senior said, adding, "It was a great feeling being a part of that victory."

"I didn't even care that I lost both of my matches, because the team won the match for me," Austrian added.