The Harvard tennis team became the team to beat yesterday as it upset heavily favored Columbia, 5-4, in New York. A victory today against Princeton, the other principal EITA contender, would virtually wrap up this year's title for the Crimson.

In a wind-swept match, Harvard secured a three-three split in singles, and won by taking two out of the three doubles contests.

Columbia attempted to neutralize Harvard's strength at the bottom of the singles ladder by playing sophomore sensation Mark Massey at five and Ace Baumgold, last year's number three player, at six.

But senior Bill Brock and sophomore Tom Loring were equal to the challenge. Columbia took three of the top four singles, and when Loring beat Baumgold. 6-4, 6-2, all eyes turned to the Brock-Massey match.

After losing the first set in a play-off game, 6-7, Brock broke Massey's game in the second, 7-5, and mopped up in the third set, 6-1, "Brock finally came of age with this match," coach Jack Barnaby said. "He wouldn't have won it last year, he wouldn't have won it last week, but he was right there when we needed him the most."

Bill Washauer was once again off his game at first singles, and lost to Doug Grunther, 6-3, 6-2. Joe Cavanagh was playing with the flu at number two, and though he became stronger as the match progressed, lost to Bob Dinns, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6.

Dave Fish was solid at number three, beating Columbia co-captain Larry Parsont, 6-3, 6-3. Randy Barnett, also down with the flu, played erratically and lost at fourth singles to Kirk Moritz, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

Harvard put the match away by taking two out of the three doubles. At third doubles, Loring was once again unbeatable in the clutch, and his partner Washauer came alive in the second set to secure a 7-6, 7-5, victory over Grunther and Moritz.

Cavanagh and Fish defeated Binns and Massey, 7-5, 6-4, at first doubles. It was an especially sweet victory for Cavanagh who felt he had been victimized by some questionable calls in his singles match with Binns, Barnett and Peter Briggs lost at second doubles to the three-year team of co-captains Parsont and Lloyd Emanuel, 7-5, 6-0.

Princeton

Last year Harvard beat Columbia, 7-2, only to lose to Princeton, 5-4. Coming off of an emotion-packed victory against Columbia, and with the edge in depth, the Crimson has an excellent chance to turn the tables on Princeton and then go on to rake the EITA championship.