Radcliffe's varsity tennis team polished off a tough Smith College squad 5-0 yesterday in what captain Lissa Muscatine called the team's most competitive match so far this season.

"The score doesn't indicate the closeness of the match," Muscatine said, adding that the team stretched its undefeated record to 3-0 because of "scrappy performances" by individual players.

Denis Thal, at first singles, swept a tight one from Smith's tenacious Susan Silver, 6-3, 7-5, while freshman Sally Roberts devoured her foe in a 6-0, 6-0, cakewalk.

Muscatine's 6-1, 6-1 triumph was deceptive--her opponent was no pushover--but the outcome was never really in doubt.

The same can be said for Diana Olney and Rita Funaro at first doubles, as they too swept their opponents in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.

Sophomores Katherine Fulton and Andy Okamura came a hairsbreadth away from being the day's only casualties. After booting the first set 3-6, the pair was down 6-5 in stanza two. They tied it up but then got back into trouble when the tie-breaker knotted up at 3-3. Fulton and Okamura finally prevailed in the tie-breaker 5-3 to take set two 7-6, and then they stroked their way to a 6-3 win in the finale.

The racquetwomen, who handily defeated Vassar and MIT, will face a strong Tufts squad Thursday in Medford. Saturday they travel to New Haven for what could be a long, grueling day in court with the tough Bulldogs.

"Although we don't have any superstars like Brown or Yale, we've got better depth than any team we've played," Muscatine said.

Coach Corry Winn was very pleased with yesterday's performance. "They had some good players at Smith and we saw a lot of good tennis. The girls played the best I've ever seen them play." Despite a loss to Tufts in the fall and a massacre at the hands of Yale last spring, Winn said he was optimistic about upcoming matches.