Netmen Sweep Singles Battles In 8-1 Slaughter of Bulldogs

Someone tell Princeton the Crimson is coming. The Harvard netmen destroyed Yale, 8-1, at home Saturday to set the stage for a showdown for the Eastern League title against the favored Tigers down in New Jersey on May 10.

The Yale match was supposed to be close. It wasn't. In fact, it took Harvard only one hour and 38 minutes to secure the first five singles battles in straight sets and thus wrap-up the match.

Yale admittedly played without Cary Leeds, one of its top two players, who watched from the sideline during the singles due to ligament and cartilege trouble in his knee. But considering the decisiveness of the result it is doubtful that even with Leeds, the story would have been very different.

The Crimson played superbly. Don Pompan took apart Yale's number one John Stiepel, 6-4, 6-0. Pompan had played Stiepel and beaten him in over a half-dozen close matches previously, but never before had he so mercilessly crushed him. In the second set, Pompan played relentlessly. Mixing up hard topspin and under-spin baseline shots, with dink volleys and more forceful net shots, Pompan completely controlled the play. Stiepel wilted under the pressure, paving the way for Pompan's 6-0 second set.

Andy Chaikovsky faced old rival Billy Brady, who beat him in the same match two years ago. Saturday it was Chaikovsky's turn. He claimed the first set, 6-3, then traded games to 4-4 in the second set. Brady netted an easy forehand volley at 3-3 of the next game to give Chaikovsky the break he needed.

Scott Walker, at number three, had perhaps the toughest match. After a tentative start against Yale captain Brad Dressler, Walker began to hit out towards the end of a 7-6 first set. He directed much of his attack at Dressler's weak, two-handed backhand. Walker seemed to be sailing smoothly towards a straight-set victory after apparently breaking Dressler's serve to move up, 5-3, in the second set.

But after Dressler objected to Walker's out call at the end of that game with a cry of "Christ, Scotty, out of what!" the pair replayed the 3-3 point and suddenly the set was tied, 4-4. When a dejected Walker dropped his next service game to trail, 4-5, it looked like Yale would take its only singles set.

The Elis didn't. Smiling almost sardonically after each point he won, the indomitable Walker characteristically captured the next three games, and the match, 7-6, 7-5.

The Crimson play in the New England's next weekend. Then they ride into Princeton, N.J., the following Wednesday to play Jay Lapidus and Co. A Crimson victory would be an upset. But after the 8-1 romp over a Yale group that Princeton beat only 6-3, the Crimson netmen might, like Tug McGraw, be beginning to believe.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1 SINGLES-D. Pompan (H) dif. J. Steipel, 6-4, 6-0.

2 SINGLES-A. Chaikovsky (H) def. B. Brady, 6-3, 6-4.

3 SINGLES-S. Walker (H) def. B. Dressler, 7-6 (5-3 tie-breaker), 7-5.

4 SINGLES-G. Kirsch (H) dif. T. Simcik, 6-2, 7-6 (5-2 tie-breaker).

5 SINGLES-B. Horne (H) def. A. Franko, 6-4, 6-1.

6 SINGLES-J. Bridgeland (H) def. K. Redman, 7-6 (5-2 tie-breaker), 7-5.

7 SINGLES-S. Hudson (Y) def. D. Arnos, 6-3, 6-1.

8 SINGLES-A. Seaver (H) def. D. Huskey, 6-2, 7-5.

9 SINGLES-E. Lazerus (Y) def. P. Lennon, 6-4, 6-3.

10 SINGLES-T. Kiam (H) dif. M. Tenhudfeld, 6-4, 6-2.

1 DOUBLES-Pompan and Chaikovsky (H) dif. Leeds and Brady, 4-6, 6-1 (Yale forfeited the third set when Brady aggravated an ankle injury).

2 DOUBLES-Steipel and Dressler (Y) def. Walker and Shaw, 7-5, 7-6 (5-3 tie-breaker).

3 DOUBLES-Kirsch and Horne (H) def. Redman and Hudson, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

4 DOUBLES-Simcik and Franko (Y) dif. Seaver and Kiam, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5-2 tie-breaker).

5 DOUBLES-Arnos and Lennon (H) def. Huskey and Fleming, 6-3, 6-4.