Netmen Tip Army, Red

The Harvard men's tennis team facec the lightest part of its schedule over the weekend with predictable results. In home matches at the Beren Tennis Courts, the Crimson rolled over Army, 8-1, Friday and pummeled Cornell, 9-0, Saturday.

"It was good to get a couple of easy wins in," Harvard's Bill Stanley said. "We've been struggling recently."

Against Army, Stanley was so dominant during his 6-0, 6-0 win of third singles that he surrendered only two points during his second set.

Darryl Laddin also had a good weekend. Laddin didn't lose a single game in two singles matches while playing fifth singles against Army and sixth singles against Cornell.

The only setback was suffered by Peter Palandjian, who lost a surprising 6-4, 7-6 decision at second singles against Army.

The Crimson was clearly gearing up for its showdown with Princeton this Tuesday. A win over the Tigers would give Harvard both the Ivy League and Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association (EITA) titles outright. A loss would leave the netmen in first-place ties with Princeton in both conferences.

"We were definitely looking forward to Princeton," Laddin said.

And Princeton has been looking forward to Harvard.

"They've been calling all the previous coaches [of Harvard opponents] to get scouting reports on us," the Crimson's Paul Palandjian said. "They've been getting scores and match reports on us for the past 3 or 4 weeks."

The match is expected to be close and the stakes will be high. A win will guarantee Harvard a team berth in the NCAA tournament to be held in two weeks at Athens, Ga.

A loss would force the regional selection committee to consider sending Princeton, although the Tigers haven't played the national powers that the Crimson has faced.

"It's going to be a tough match," Laddin said. "It'll probably go down to the doubles."

The strong tradition of both Harvard and Princeton tennis will also play a role.

"It's always a special kind of match, like Harvard and Yale," Paul Palandjian said. "Princeton is our Yale in tennis."