Yale Edges Women's Tennis Team in 5-4 Decision

For a while on Saturday everything went according to plan at the Palmer Dixon courts.

The Harvard women's tennis team had split the six singles matches with powerful Yale, and could now take on the Elis where the Crimson is strongest--at doubles. But at this point Yale threw a monkey wrench into the works. Capitalizing on the netwomen's lackluster play, the visiting team cruised to two straight-set wins and defaulted after splitting sets in the third doubles match for a satisfying 5-4 victory.

Yale lived up to its reputation as the reigning New England champ and co-holder of the Ivy League title by forcing the Crimson to struggle for every win.

Maria Pe turned in a sterling performance at second singles, outlasting Yale's Kris DiMambro in a three-hour marathon match, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

DiMambro won the singles crown at the New Englands in the fall, but that didn't faze Harvard's top freshman. Playing with Borg-like intensity, Pe recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the second set to sweep the next four games and extend the match. In a final frame filled with long baseline rallies, the usually aggressive Pe showed solid strokes and a lot of patience in waiting for DiMambro's unforced errors.

"I played her game most of the time, but by the third set she got impatient and started going for winners, which cost her the match," Pe said yesterday.

Erica Schulman staged another impressive comeback for the Crimson in the third slot. Matched against Yale captain Natalya Smith, the Yardling played erratically at first, dropping the opening set, 6-2. But Schulman settled down in the next two sets and adjusted to Smith's frequent use of deep, looping shots for a hard-fought 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.

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Harvard's top seed Tiina Bougas avenged last year's loss to Kathy Dalton by disposing of her, 6-0, 6-3, Saturday. After coasting through six quick games in the first set. Bougas faltered briefly and trailed 3-2 in the second stanza. Not to worry, she caught fire again to take the next four games and the match.

The bottom half of the Crimson lineup proved not so lucky, as Yale's depth prevailed--dealing the netwomen three straight-set losses.

With the match's outcome depending on doubles, Yale wasted no time in seizing the upper hand. Harvard's duo of Pe and Martha Roberts at first doubles dropped a tough first set in a tie-breaker and then failed to regain their composure, losing 7-6, 6-3.

"We felt sure we would win going into the match, but toward the end of the first set we lost our concentration and couldn't get it back," Pe said.

The netwomen also dropped the third doubles contest in two quick sets, icing the victory for the Elis. Harvard's sole consolation came at second doubles, where play ceased after splitting sets because of a minor Yale injury.