Netmen Split Contests: Nip BYU, Fall to S.C.

The Harvard men's tennis team lost to nationally-ranked South Carolina, 5-2, in the third-round of the National Indoor Team Championships Saturday and finished in the 11th spot in the 16-team tournament.

The defeat, coming on the heels of a 5-3 Crimson triumph over Brigham Young University Friday, was Harvard's second loss of the tournament, held in Louisville, Ky.

Harvard's first loss, a 5-4 thriller to Stanford in the opening round, ended the Crimson's underdog chances at winning the tournament, which featured some of the nation's best teams.

But Harvard Coach David Fish was pleased with his team's 1-2 tournament record and its overall effort.

"I was proud of their performance," Fish said. "We feel we're on track for the rest of the season."

Harvard's number three, Billy Stanley, led the Crimson in its triumph over BYU by beating Greg Hayword in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3.

The Crimson also got good performances from its numbers five and six, Darryl Laddin and Paul Palandjian.

In the loss to South Carolina, the Crimson's number one player, Larry Scott, dropped a hard-fought match to Robert-Jan Bierens, 7-6, 6-4.

But even after seeing their top player go down, the Cantabs hung together.

Stanley defeated S.C.'s Richard Ashby--whom Fish called "a pretty unbeatable player"--in a three-hour match, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

If Harvard could have swept its three doubles matches against the Gamecocks, it would have finished in 10th place in the tournament.

But Scott and partner Arkie Engle, after rooting for Stanley in his tough match, fell to S.C.'s number one doubles team, 6-2, 6-2.

"One thing we did learn was that we spent too much time concentrating on Billy's match," Fish said. "We didn't prepare for the doubles. When we got out there, we were cold."

Engle, out for the past two weeks with a back injury, performed well in the tournament, according to Fish.

"He came back and had a very good tournament," Fish said. "It's good for the team to have him there."

The tourney, while counting in the national rankings, was really only a warm-up for the Cantabs, who begin their outdoor season March 16 against Temple.

"Our conditioning isn't that good yet," Fish said. "But we're getting there."