Racquetwomen Keep Winning In Spite of Lack of Facilities

The Radcliffe racquetwomen have no organized practices, no regular coach, no dressing room, no showers and no indoor courts on which to practice during the winter. In spite of this, the team managed to have a winning season last Spring. Things look even brighter for this year's season.

Harvard tennis Coach Jack Barnaby let the women use the Palmer-Dixon Indoor Courts this winter. Barnaby and Corey Wynn '40 volunteered to give the women pointers on tactics and techniques. But the Radcliffe team still has no full-time coach who can watch the women play their matches and accompany them on tournaments.

The organization is also different this year. There will be a six-member varsity in which all six play singles and repeat to play three sets of doubles. Last year the team fluctuated between 3 and 18 members. No one knew who exactly was on the team and this really undermined quality and team-coordinated performance.

Captain Meg Morgan said yesterday that the new six-member varsity should help create a more serious attitude and help the team work together better.

Perla Hughes will coach a six-member junior varsity team. The JV schedule is the same schedule which the varsity played last year. Practices will begin at the Radcliffe courts after vacation.

The varsity plays its first match on April 13 against Princeton. Last year, Princeton routed Radcliffe, 9-0, and Morgan said yesterday that Radcliffe has zero chance of beating Princeton this year.

Jill Robertson, Meg Morgan, Joy Skon and Sarah Stearns are already set in varsity positions on the basis of past performances. Six other women are playing challenge matches for the remaining two slots.

Coaching

Barnaby and Wynn began working with the Radcliffe team this winter. Barnaby said yesterday that the team was inexperienced and that it takes time for coaching to take effect. It takes at least two months for a team to learn to execute a new technique under the pressure of a match, he said.

Barnaby said that many of the women on the team have had no coaching since high school. He said he is doing as much extensive corrective coaching as his time allows.

Barnaby said that the squad members are not making the same errors every day now and are showing signs of improvement.

Barnaby said that Robertson looked good in practice. Robertson and Stearns went all the way to the semifinal round of the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament last Fall.

Margy G. Paget, assistant to the director of athletics, said yesterday that "existing facilities at Harvard are just no adequate for both men's and women's varsity sports." She said that an upgrading and extension of facilities is a necessity.

Paget said yesterday that she will be able to be with the team at home games, which make up the majority of matches for this spring season. Paget was coach of the Radcliffe tennis team before she assumed her current administrative duties.