Courtmen Face Williams Today; Crimson Approaches Big Week

When Harvard's tennis team visits Williams this afternoon, the match will mark the end of the Crimson's "preparatory" season-one in which it has enjoyed tremendous success.

Withing the next week and a half. Harvard will face two of its most dangerous EITA foes-Pennsylvania and Princeton-and a third that is rapidly on the way up-Columbia. How well the Crimson fares in these matches will probably determine the squad's fate this spring.

But this afternoon, at least. Harvard should be in little danger of disappointment. Williams has not beaten the Crimson since 1955, lost. 9-0, at Cambridge last season, and has graduated its top man, Ed Cunningham.

Junior Pike Talbert, who lost in straight sets to Harvard's Terry Oxford at number three last year, will face Crimson junior Bill Washauer at number one today, and it appears that he will fare little better this season. Below him the ladder is basically the same as last year, with the addition of sophomore Chris Warner at number two and senior Pete Kinney at five.

The Ephmen's best chance for an upset seem to be at sixth singles, where junior Sewell Corkran will face Harvard captain Butch Kawakami, and at first doubles, where Talbert and Dave Johnson meet Washauer and junior Chris Nielsen.

Last Spring. Corkran was the only Williams singles performer to force a Harvard player to play a third set, as he lost to Steve Devereux, 6-2, 1-6, 2-6. Talbert and Johnson, who made it past two rounds at the New Englands last year in the doubles competition, lost to Washauer and Nielsen at Cambridge, 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, and could make a three-setter out of today's match as well.

On the whole, however, Williams simply does not have enough match experience this spring to challenge the Crimson-at least not this early in the season. The Ephmen have had only one contest this month, an easy victory over Trinity, to pit against Harvard's record of four consecutive triumphs, all against competition as good as, or better than Williams. -J. L. P.