After an encouraging 21-10 victory over Brandeis, Harvard lost to Middlebury and Dartmouth in the New England regional Ultimate frisbee contest held here this weekend at Hoyt Field.

By losing to Dartmouth, 24-18, in a closely contested game, Harvard missed a chance to be one of three teams that will compete later this spring in Amherst for the Northeast title.

"We played our hearts out today and that was real encouraging," Ted Teele '80 said yesterday. "But the wind was out and we got bottled up deep in our own territory."

Harvard and Dartmouth were neck and neck until the last minutes of the game today. When the Crimson receivers dropped a few key passes.

The successes of the tournament in attracting 18 teams indicates that Ultimate frisbee has made considerable progress since Rutgers and Princeton played the first intercollegiate game in 1972. Scores of teams in other parts of the country are competing this month in regional contests.

Ultimate hasn't become a national sport, however, without undergoing some transformations.

The game has become more organized and competitive, participants said yesterday, and players take it more seriously.

"A lot of the counter-culture teams that started playing this game aren't playing now," a member of the Boston Aerodise--an area team--said during the tournament yesterday.

Spaced

Nevertheless, Ultimate has to change a lot more before its counter-culture elements are purged. The mascot for the Middlebury team--known for the relaxed attitudes of its members, is a four-foot high bong.

"It's more fun and you don't have to feed it." one Middlebury player said. "Besides, it gives you much more encouragement to play than an animal would."

The Middlebury team members said they are out for a good time and criticized some of the other teams for taking the sport too seriously and ruining the atmosphere of the contests. "We're out here for a good time and that's all that matters," one Middlebury player said.

The three teams that qualified to compete in the Northeast championship are Aerodisk. New Hampshire College and Middlebury College.