Crimson Falters at N.E.'s

The brilliant play of Scott Walker at the New England Championships was obscured by the mediocre performances of other members of Harvard's tennis team, by the loss to injury of captain Todd Lundy, and by windy playing conditions at Amherst this weekend, as Harvard finished third in the tournament for the first time in--well, longer than anyone wants to admit.

Walker dropped just one set in winning the "B" singles competition, and he teamed with Kevin Shaw to win the "A" doubles, but deep and consistent Yale won the tournament for the second straight year, with 45 points, as Dartmouth (39), Harvard (38) and a host of other schools trailed.

The Crimson had won the New Englands 12 years running, until the Elis scored an upset win last year.

"Kevin and I played pretty good doubles," Walker said late last night after the team's return, "but we just didn't get it together as a team."

The Crimson's chances for victory were hurt when Don Pompan and Bob Horne both dropped early-round singles matches.

Matters did not improve any when junior veterans Andy Chaikovsky, playing in the "A" singles, and Kevin Shaw, playing in the "B"s, both dropped close quarterfinal matches. Greg Kirsch also lost his singles match, losing, 7-5, 7-5, to the eventual "C" winner, Dartmouth's Mark Jeffrey.

But then came Walker, blazing through the "B" bracket like a herd of longhorns on the Texas plains. Scotty breezed through three early matches, beat Dartmouth's Mark Schneider in the quarters (6-4, 6-3), and downed Yale's Brad Dressler in the semis (7-5, 6-3) to reach yesterday's finals.

Eli Jack Cobetto had trouble warming up in the first set of that match, as Walker smoked him, 6-1. The portly Eli nabbed the second set, 7-5, but a close encounter in the third set went to Walker, 7-5, for the victory.

Walker and Shaw teamed up to blow away the "A" doubles competition, capping a stellar tourney performance by beating Williams's number one pairing, 7-6, 6-1, in the finals.

The Crimson's "B" doubles team of Pompan and Kirsch lost in the quarters, while "C" team Chaikovsky-Horne made it to the semis before falling.

On a positive note, Harvard players took three of four matches in head-to-head competition with Yale, a squad which the Crimson takes on at New Haven in a crucial Eastern League showdown.

"I think we'll be ready for that one," Chaikovsky said last night.