Netmen Slide by Green; Clinch Ivy League Title

HANOVER, N.H.--To paraphrase sophomore Jonathan Cardi, the Harvard men's tennis team left Dartmouth green with envy yesterday.

For the second time in as many weeks, the match was decided by the play of doubles partners Derek Brown and Albert Chang. Brown and Chang triumphed as the Crimson edged the Big Green, 5-4, at the Nathaniel Leverone Field House. The win makes Harvard--the only undefeated team in the EITA--the Ivy League Champion for the first time in three years.

As the teams finished tied, 3-3, after the singles matches, visions of the Yale match came to mind. Brown and Chang survived a tough three-setter against the Elis to give the Crimson a 5-4 victory last Friday. Yesterday their win over Dartmouth's Patrick Perry and Peter Kong, 7-6, 6-7, 6-1, gave Harvard not only the match, but ensured it sole possession of the Ivy title.

Junior Robi Soni was really on his game and cruised through his singles match at the number-six position, defeating Lee Burns, 6-1, 6-2. All his shots seemed to catch the lines, as he hit winner after winner.

"Soni's been like money in the bank for us," junior Roger Berry said. "He's just playing really solid tennis."

Sophomore Mike Shyjan continued his domination over the opposition at the number-two spot, dispatching Todd Kjeldgaard, 6-4, 6-3.

"I didn't feel that he played that well," Shyjan said. "I'm playing the best that I've been playing all year, and that was the difference."

Brown gave Harvard the third singles victory at the number-three position, triumphing over Dartmouth Captain Jeff Hawkins, 7-6(7-3), 6-4.

After defeating Brown's Tim Donovan--the top player in the East--last Saturday, freshman Michael Zimmerman seemed to lack his usual intensity, falling to Matt Semler, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), at first singles.

"It was sort of a letdown--I played tentatively," Zimmerman said. "He's definitely a good player. I underestimated him."

Cardi lost in straight sets to Andrew Tucker, 6-2, 6-4, at the number-five position.

"I couldn't put a single return into the court--I was really off today," Cardi said.

Chang dropped his match at fifth singles to Patrick Perry, 6-1, 7-5, to knot the match score at 3-3.

The Crimson's doubles teams got off to a rather inauspicious start as both the first and second doubles teams dropped their first sets.

Fortunately for the Crimson, Zimmerman and Berry rebounded from their disastrous first set to defeat Semler and Hawkins, 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, at first doubles.

"I was making so many errors in the first set--I was playing horrifically," Berry said. "The whole match started over in the second set."

Dartmouth's number-two doubles team of Tucker and Kjelgaard heightened the tension, defeating Cardi and Shyjan, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Again all attention on the courts was focused on Brown and Chang. After dropping the second-set tiebreaker, they left the outcome bereft of any suspense, racing to a 5-0 lead in the third set.