Tennis Team Compiles 6-1 Record On Tour Through Southern States

Leaving Cambridge snowstorms far behind, the Varsity tennis team found the warmer air of Virginia and South Carolina highly congenial and compiled an impressive 6-1 record on tis annual spring vacation trip.

The tour's only loss--to Presbyterian, 7 to 2, last Saturday--was influenced to some degree by special circumstances. The Varsity had whipped its Clinton, S.C., hosts by 6-3 the day before and was scheduled to leave for home immediately after the second match Saturday morning. Therefore, coach Jack Barnaby said, "the boys were more anxious to hit the road than to hit the tennis ball."

Also, the pairings Saturday were reversed, with the Varsity's number one man facing the Presbyterian number two man. Other switches were made to avoid duplicating Friday's match. For these reasons, Barnaby claimed that Presbyterian's Saturday triumph can be partially discounted.

Opponents Weak

Except Presbyterian--perhaps the best team the Varsity will meet until the squad faces Yale in the middle of May--the opponents on the trip were none too challenging. The first two matches were played in the cold, 35-degree atmosphere of northern Virginia, where the Crimson defeated the Byrd Park Tennis Association, a fairly good team, by 9-6 on a strong showing in the doubles matches. The next day, Sunday, March 29, the squad whipped the Country Club of Virginia very soundly, 12 to 1.

After a quick drive down to the South Carolina, the varsity trounced another weak team, Kenyon College, 9 to 0, Monday afternoon. On Wednesday and Thursday, the team easily handled Clemson, 7 to 2, and Kalamazoo, 8 to 1, to set the stage for the Presbyterian matches.

In all, the trip was probably both valuable and encouraging, although, with the defection of traditional rivals like North Carolina and Duke, the opposition was somewhat less than formidable. Most of the teams the varsity faced, according to Barnaby, have one or two very good men, and then "taper off very rapidly."

Therefore, the Crimson's top two men had tough matches and often lost, while the bottom of the team was only mildly tested. The varsity's victories down south came mainly on the basis of depth: against Presbyterian on Friday, the Crimson dropped first and second singles and first doubles, and then swept the remaining six matches to win.

Team Re-organized

As the team stood at the end of the tour, sophomore Bob Bowditch had edged junior Tim Gallwey out for the number one singles slot. Neither of them did particularly well on the trip, but Barnaby expects an improved showing with more work. Captain Ned Weld occupies the third position, with junior Fred Vinton at number four, Sohpomore Jorge Lemann and junior Bill Wood round out the top six.

Everyone below the first two, Barnaby said, needs more challenging opposition than he faced on the trip.

As a result of the tour, the doubles situation has now cleared up considerably. The newly formed combination of Weld and Bowditch is improving steadily, and came very close to winning at number one against Presbyterian. They beat out last year's second pair of Gallwey and Vinton in a special match at Clinton last Tuesday. Lemann and Wood, at number three, looked quite good, although playing against weak opposition.

The varsity opens its regular season April 15 against M.I.T.