PRINCETON, N.J.--After a rainy week without practice, the varsity tennis team had dry, though cloudy, weather here Saturday, and routed a good Princeton squad, 8 to 1.
A gay but disappointed Spring Weekend crowd of Tigers and dates saw the undefeated Crimson sweep the first six singles and two of the next four to clinch both the nine-match Eastern Intercollegiate League and the fifteen-match Big Three contests before the doubles play had even begun. The varsity won three of five doubles to make the final Big Three score 11 to 4.
Captain Ned Weld led off the victory with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over Princeton's 6 ft., 4 in. Dave Brechner at first singles. Weld found Brechner's two forehands and long reach puzzling only in the first set, and once he had figured out the Tiger's game, the Crimson captain had a fairly easy time.
At number two, Bob Bowditch aced Tom Richardson (Ham's younger brother) with his second service on the first point, and went on to win easily, 6-3, 6-1. Richardson, who has beautiful, smooth strokes but slow reflexes, couldn't reach many of Bowditch's powerful drives.
Tim Gallwey, at number three, picked up another straight set win, 6-3, 7-5, over Sam Hinkle. Down 1-5 in the second set, Gallwey reeled off six straight games.
Fred Vinton, Jorge Lemann, Bill Wood, Pete Smith and Dick Chute rounded out the singles victories. Vinton crushed Roy Anderson, 6-3, 6-1, at number four, and Lemann, playing fifth, came back after dropping the first set to beat Don LeWin, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, in one of the afternoon's most interesting matches. Wood, at number six, ran right through "patballer" and retriever Ed Mills in the opening set, then inexplicably lost his touch and had to rally before winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Smith, playing ninth, beat Tim Scarf, 7-5, 6-0, while Chute, at number ten, outlasted Toby Worth, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Princeton picked up its only singles wins at seven and eight, where John Cartier beat Jim Cameron, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, and Kit Huttig used his tremendous overhead shot to defeat Laurie Pratt, 6-2, 6-4.
Playing first doubles, Weld and Bowditch had a tight match with Brechner and Anderson, winning by 6-4, 3-6, 8-6. Behind 1-3 in the deciding set, the Crimson pair won three straight games and, with both their powerful services clicking beautifully, held on to break Brechner's service in the fourteenth game for the match.
The varsity handled the traditionally tough Tigers, their first really first-rate opponents, with impressive ease. This victory, coupled with Yale's 8-1 conquest of Dartmouth, leaves the Crimson and the Elis as the only unbeaten teams in the Eastern League.
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