Netwomen Second In Seven Sisters Tourney; Dartmouth Captures Singles, Doubles Crowns

It was a Harvard-Dartmouth show at the Ivy League-Seven Sisters Tournament this weekend at Smith, but the Big Green took home all the gold as the Crimson finished second, seven points back of the champions.

Dartmouth swept the singles and the doubles titles, placing both their entrants in the finals of the singles competition, to notch 26 points. The Crimson six, winning the singles consolation tourney and reaching the doubles finale, captured the second slot with 19 points.

Harvard and Dartmouth so dominated the contest that the third-place finisher, Brown, scored only half as many points as the Crimson.

Libby Pierpontand Katie Ditzler, seeded second in the doubles, wiped out the first two teams they faced. They triumphed 6-3, 6-1 over a Mt. Holyoke duo and then double-bagled their second-round opponents, a combo from Cornell, to reach the semis.

Ditzler and Pierpont cut down one squad from Dartmouth, 6-3, 6-3 in the semis only to lose to another Big Green team in the finals. In a contest that was a lot closer than the score indicates, Ditzler and Pierpont succumbed to the top seeds of the tournament, Jody Awad and Thayer Wendell, 6-4, 6-2.

"Awad and Wendell are a strong, very experienced team," coach Peter Felske said. "Libby and Katie missed a few routine volleys in key points that could have made the situation different," he added.

The other doubles team for the Crimson, Leslie Miller and Meg Meyer, fought their way past the third seeds, 7-5, 6-4, before losing in the semi-finals to the team of Awad and Wendell.

Martha Roberts, the netwomen's singles ace, came back to grab the consolation blue ribbon after dropping a disappointing contest to Greta Frei of Vassar, 2-2. In the finals, Robert defeated Barnard's Ann D'Adesky, a recent transfer from Florida, 6-4, 7-5.

Also competing in the singles for the Crimson, Sally Roberts lost to Pam Banholzer of Dartmouth, 6-0, 6-3, in the semifinals. Banholzer, the top seed singles player, went on to finish second in the tournament, losing to teammate Allison Hibbert.

Felske commented that the Seven Sisters Tournament may be replaced by an Ivy League round-robin for next year. "We really need to take this step," Felske said. "Right now there is not really an Ivy League championship since Princeton and Yale do not attend the Seven Sisters," he added.

One week from Tuesday, weather permitting, the women in white have a rematch with the squad from Hanover. Manager Robin Worth said, "It will have to be a tremendous match."