Rain Restricts Racketmen On Southern Tennis Tour

While the sun shone brightly in Cambridge last week, Harvard's varsity tennis team struggled to complete its annual Southern trip amidst continuous cloudbursts.

Heavy rainfall prevented the completion of all but one varsity match and left coach Jack Barnaby's number one squad without a single team victory. The second squad, coached by freshman mentor Corey Wynn, beat Pheiffer College 8-1 for Harvard's only victory.

Despite the restricted schedule, Barnaby termed the trip "a qualified success." "We showed great team spirit and our tennis definitely improved," Barnaby said. "This squad has a fighting chance o beat any of the Ivy League teams this season, including Princeton and Pennsylvania."

Oxford Impresses

Barnaby expressed great satisfaction with the rapid development of junior Terry Oxford, who went undefeated in both singles and doubles. "Oxford's outstanding effort earned him a spot among our top six singles players," Barnaby said.

John Levin, playing at the number one singles position, also received praise from Barnaby. "John played at least 30 per cent better than he did at this time last year," Barnaby said.

This season, Barnaby plans to get increased mileage from some of his less-experienced players by having them specialize in either singles or doubles. He hopes this strategy will allow them to develop more quickly.

Barnaby's strategy will necessitate some shuffling at the lower singles and doubles positions. Steve Devereux, Bruce Weigand, Bo Jones, Kent Parrot, and Oxford will be battling for singles sports as the season progresses.

In the doubles, Levin and Rocky Jarvis have already nailed down the number one position. Captain Jose Gonzales is a terrific doubles player but he has not yet located a partner. Either Oxford or Parrot will probably be paired with him at number two.

Harvard opens its regular season this Wednesday, with a match at M.I.T.