Yale, Trinity, Brandeis Edge 'Cliffe

A Radcliffe tennis squad which had hoped for the team trophy in the 37-college New England Women's tournament over the weekend turned in a dismal performance, losing the top three positions to Yale, Trinity and Brandeis, at New Haven.

"Everybody just fizzled," said Lissa Muscatine, who with Denise Thal was seeded second in doubles. "We had a bad weekend." An unranked Williams duo knocked Muscatine and Thal out in their first match, 5-7, 7-5, 7-5.

As in the previous weekend's Greater Boston Championships, doubles team Maude Wood and Jinny St. Goer turned in Radcliffe's strongest performance, eliminating pairs from Pittsburgh, southern Connecticut and Connecticut before a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss in the quarterfinals. "I was not disappointed with Maude and Jinny," coach John McCarthy said yesterday.

Default, Defeat

Suki Magraw, Radcliffe's top singles entry, succeeded to the second round by default before a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat. Second singles Rita Funaro, playing despite a week-long cold, suffered her setback in the first round, 6-3, 6-1.

Muscatine said Radcliffe, which has a winning streak of 13 in dual matches, is at a natural disadvantage in large draw tournaments, where individual talent becomes as important as team depth. "A lot of schools have one really strong singles player," she said, who can progressively eliminate the slightly inferior team players that make up Radcliffe's strength.

The tournament at Yale marked the end of Radcliffe's fall tennis season. McCarthy said he is considering holding a tournament at Harvard in March.