The big gun is missing from the freshman tennis scene this year, but has been replaced, hopes coach Corey Wynn, by a group of smaller ones whose combined range will exceed that of the big one.

The gun metaphor may seem out of place in a tennis preview, but there is no other word which accurately describes the game of Dale Junta who has moved from the top spot on last year's freshman squad to become the number two man on the varsity.

This year's freshman tennis squad appears to have the necessary depth to counterbalance the power at the top which proved to be the mainstay of last year's team. As coach Wynn puts it "our crop of freshmen this year is definitely better than average," although "there is no one outstanding player such as Junta on the team."

Most of the tennis talent comes each year from the Eastern prep schools, and generally Harvard gets the largest portions. This year, however, the Crimson, according to Wynn, shares many of the experienced players who graduated from prep schools last spring. Dartmouth, Williams, Amherst, and especially Yale, which has one of its strongest squads in years, will all provide stiff opposition for the Yardlings. The first important test of the freshmen's power will come this Saturday at Hanover when they face Dartmouth.

At present, the players are working on volleys and approach shots in an attempt to sharpen up their games for the tough mid-season schedule. On the basis of practice sessions, Wynn has set up his ladder arbitrarily, but there are still several contenders for most of the positions.

Jim Cameron, from the Thacher School in California is the top man on the team. He defeated Exeter's Charlie Hamm in a challenge match early this week to move Hamm down to the number two position. In the third spot, Ned Weld from Milton Academy is almost sure to be challenged by fourth man Bill Wood, whom Weld defeated in a challenge match last Saturday. Filling out the line-up at fifth and sixth singles are Bob Repetto and Jim Tamerin respectively.

Evenly Matched

Cameron and Hamm have been very closely paired since the fall. Each man has defeated the other once in three sets, and both of them have fast, powerful, and, at times erratic games. Weld and Wood form a curious contrast, with Weld's slow, accurate game pitted against Wood's speed afoot and his aggressive tactics.

The bottom two players, Repetto and Tamerin, feature powerful forehand drives, Repetto off the right side, Tamerin off the left. Repetto, captain of the Belmont Hill team last year, appears to hold the fifth spot uncontested, while Tamerin should get plenty of opposition from seventh man Roger Tuckerman.

Good at Doubles

Tuckerman also was praised by Wynn for his excellent doubles play so important to the success of a tennis team. Another top doubles player, Laurie Pratt, missed fall play because of hockey practice Wynn said that Pratt's capable serve and height may help him move up on the team.

Behind these men is another group of players, all experienced, ready to topple any regular should he become overconfident. Pete Lund, Francis Hayne, Pete Kramer, Gordon Marlow, and Mal Hill all contribute significantly to the reserve depth which coach Wynn hopes will lead the team to a successful season.