It may seem hard to believe, but the varsity tennis team had a better season this year than its 16-3 overall record would indicate; for each loss came partly as the result of an early season back injury to captain Dale Junta.

This is not to disparage North Carolina, Presbyterian, or Amherst, all of whom had strong squads and most successful seasons. But the fact remains that against Presbyterian, Junta lost both singles and doubles, and that neither Junta nor Allen Goldman was able to play against Amherst. Fatigue was probably the biggest factor in the team's loss to North Carolina, whom the varsity crushed here by an 8-1 margin.

It was in victory, however, that the Crimson showed its best side, especially in its amazing ablity to play as a team--a rare virtue in such a basically individualistic sport. The credit for this goes to coach Jack Barnaby, to Junta, and most deservedly to the members of the team themselves.

Theoretically, the best possible win for a Harvard team is one over Yale, and this year's team put the theory into practice. Going into the match with the Elis, who had not previously been defeated, the varsity was rated an underdog. But after the 6-3 triumph, there was little dispute as to which was the better squad.

The outstanding match was at first singles, between Junta and Yale's sophomore ace, Don Dell. Almost completely recovered from his injury, Junta started out the contest by literally blowing Dell off the court in the first set.

Taking advantage of his powerful first serve, which gave Dell a good deal of trouble all afternoon, the Crimson captain took the opening set, 6-1. Dell came back to win the second, but behind 3-1 in the deciding set, Junta found his second wind and determinedly won the next five games to take the match.

Second singles man Larry Sears capped off his season, most of which he spent at the number one spot, by polishing off Jon Clark in straight sets. Both Sears and Junta are seniors, however, and will be missed next year.

But there is no reason to foresee a dismal season next year. Juniors Ned Weld, Bill Wood, Laurie Pratt, and Jim Cameron have all showed tremendous improvement, as have sophomores Tim Gallwey and Fred Vinton. And the freshman team won ten straight matches this season, and should provide the varsity with several excellent players.

Jack Barnaby's wait 'till next year will not be an unpleasant one.