Last year, the Varsity tennis squad got off to an Inauspicious start in its postwar revival by salvaging only two victories in a nine match season, but coach Jack Barnaby '32 attributes this debacle to a combination of circumstances rather than any lack of potential talent among his charges.

Barnaby returned to his coaching duties in 1946 to find the remains of an untutored wartime squad with little tournament experience, and only 14 worn-out courts on which both Freshmen and team were supposed to play. On top of this, last spring's rains washed out almost all practices as well as several matches.

This fall, with new courts, all but two of last year's Varsity, plus some promising new talent, Barnaby is seeing his long-range plans begin to bear fruit. Top-seeded Ted Backe is back, as are Bill Wightman, Steve Prati, and Howio Swartzman, all dependable in last spring's battles.

They will be supplemented by returnees Ted Bullard, John Ager, and Vincent Brant, the latter a strong contender for the number one slot, as well as last year's Freshman aces Hillard Hughes, Greer Nicholl, and jack Frey.

Barnaby is running off a series of test matches between these players and several others from the '47 Varsity, but as yet he is making no definite predictions of next season's starting lineup. Either Backe or Brant are almost certain for the number one position, while at present Wightman and Pratt are battling it out for number three, but beyond that the field is wide open.

With an even break on weather, Barnaby expects to be well-prepared for the coming season, which gets off to an early start in March with a tour through the South.

Although Cornell, Princeton, and Yale still are loaded with some of the top talent in the East, the Crimson has gather enough momentum and talent in the past year to make it a far stronger contender in the coming season than last spring's showing would lead one to believe.