Netwomen Outclass Ivy Champs

Anyone who expected yesterday's women's tennis match between Harvard and Brown to be something like Rocky Balboa versus Drago the Russian came away disappointed.

It was more like Rocky Balboa versus Bullwinkle the Moose.

Unlike the nip-and-tuck battle of one year ago, Harvard delivered what amounted to a first-round knockout of Brown inside the friendly confines of the Palmer-Dixon Tennis Center.

The Crimson (10-8 overall) jumped out to a 8-1 match lead and eventually ended up with a x-x win to move to a perfect 4-0 in Ivy play.

With the loss, Brown fell to 1-5 in the Ivies and 3-14 overall.

The victory puts Harvard in prime position to reclaim the Ivy title it lost to Brown last year.

Did it feel good to avenge last year's controversial loss?

"Last year was last year," Harvard Coach Gordon Graham said. "These teams have totally different players. The only thing that is the same is the two coaches."

The time around, the Crimson was in control from start to finish.

Harvard began the day by taking the one and three doubles matches in straight sets, while dropping the second match to give the Crimson a 2-1 lead going into singles.

Harvard's top player, freshman Erika deLone, rolled to her 29th singles win this season, crushing Monica Catrina 6-1, 6-1. Including the two games she lost in yesterday's match, deLone has dropped a scant four games (yes, games) in Ivy competition this year.

As deLone captured a third point for Harvard, senior Kim Cooper dispatched her opponent Debbie Thomas 6-2, 6-2, to push the total score to 4-1. Junior Erika Elmuts delivered the knockout punch in the second spot with a tough, two-set battle against Brown's Sheryl Ryu.

After capitalizing on one break to snatch the first set 6-3, Elmusts fought her way out of a jam serving 3-4 in the second to win three straight games and the match. "That was a key game," Elmuts said about her service game at 3-4, "because every other service game I had that set was quick. It felt good to pull that out." HARVARD, 8-1 at Palmer-Dixon Tennis Courts

Singles

1.DeLone (Harvard) def. Monica Catrina (Brown), 6-1, 6-1; 2.Elmuts (H) def. Ryu (B), 6-3, 6-4; 3.Cooper (H) def. Thomas (B), 6-2, 6-2; 4.Parker (H) def Kranzberg (B), 6-2, 6-4; 5.Passent (H) def. Spitz (B), 6-2, 6-2; 6.Harris (H) def. Howard (B), 6-0, 6-4.

Doubles

1.DeLone/Elmuts (H) def. Catrina/Franek (B), 6-1, 6-0; 2.Thomas/Ryu (B) def. Parker/Passent (H), 6-2, 7-5; 3.McNabb/Pollack (H) def. Spitz/Kranzberg (P), 6-1, 6-4.