Netwomen Cruise

Under grey skies and amidst chilly winds, only the Harvard women's tennis team finished the weekend's tourney with Yale, the University of Virginia and William & Mary undefeated.

Harvard defeated Virginia, 6-3, on Saturday and went on to score an easy 8-1 victory over William and Mary yesterday in its third dual match of the season.

Yale lost to William and Mary, 6-3, on Saturday and then to Virginia by the same score yesterday.

As a result, Harvard finished the weekend get-together at the Beren Tennis Center with a 2-0 record, while Yale finished 0-2. Both Virginia and William & Mary left with 1-1 marks.

Harvard Coach Donald Usher said such matches are usually moved indoors when the temperature is below 50 degrees or the wind-chill factor is below 40. But with a 6:30 p.m. flight for the William & Mary team and only three indoor courts available, time was of the essence.

So the tourney finished on the outdoor courts yesterday. The cold fell on both teams equally, even though Harvard's two opponents came from warmer climes, Usher said. The Harvard squad has as little experience with the cold weather as their opponents this early in the year.

But that didn't make it any easier.

"It's tougher to move," Usher said. "Everyone's a lot more tentative, and thus everyone makes a few more mistakes."

Though it was colder yesterday than Saturday, the Harvard squad gained a much easier victory over William & Mary, sweeping five of the six single matches and then sweeping all three double matches.

Junior Erika Smith, ranked number-one in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, easily swept by her opponents 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday and 6-2, 6-2 yesterday.

Sophomores Robin Boss and Kathy Vigna also prevailed both days, winning respectively, 6-1, 6-2 and 6-0, 6-1 against Virginia and 6-4, 6-1 and 6-3, 6-0 against William & Mary.