Netmen Open Season Today

Harvard men's assistant tennis Coach Tom Glenn, filling in for Dave Fish, has every reason to be confident going into today's season opener at Palmer-Dixon Courts against Ohio State.

But like a good poker player, Glenn is careful not to overplay his hand.

"I expect it to be a tough match," the assistant coach said Thursday. "Ohio State has had some competitive teams in the past and they're in a very tough league [the Big Ten]."

Maybe so, but Harvard seems to have the deck stacked in its favor. The netmen are ranked 17th in the nation in pre-season polls, while no one expects much from the Buckeyes.

The Crimson ace-in-the-hole, of course, is senior Howard Sands, in the ECAC's in October, which Harvard won convincingly, the two-time. All-American knocked off Princeton's top player. Ted Farnsworth, to cop the singles A title.

Since then, the Crimson ace has beaten SMU's Rodney Harmon--the top collegiate player in the nation and number 63 in the world--and two other college players ranked in the top 15: Texas' Johnny Levine (no. 11) and Pepperdine's Rich Gullien (13).

The team as a whole has also been hot. Aside from a near-sweep victory of the ECAC's, the netmen garnered top honors three weeks ago at the four-team Minnesota Tennis Showcase, hosted by the University of Minnesota.

But much of the credit, also belongs to Sands' supporting cast. Against Ohio State in today's opener, Warren Grossman and Captain Adam Beren--two tested veterans--play at second and third singles, while Dave Beckman. Larry Scott and Rob Loud will round out the Crimson lineup.

Strengthening Harvard's hand will be the first doubles duo of Sands and Beren, which garnered All-American honors last year. This year, Sands and Beren are ranked 10th nationally.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes stand in third place in the Big Ten behind Michigan and Minnesota, and boost no nationally ranked players.