In a match the Crimson hopes was an omen for its spring Ivy season, Harvard's women's tennis team beat Boston University at the Palmer-Dixon courts yesterday. Last week B.U. took a 5-4 decision from Yale, the spring-season Ivy title.

"Last year we tied for first with Yale and Princeton," noted Crimson Coach Don Usher. "This was a big win which will help us in the spring."

Harvard took the first four matches in straight sets. Top-seeded Harvard player, junior Elizabeth Evans, won the first nine games of her match before dropping a game to Lesley Sheehan of the Terriers, who had beaten Evans in three of their four previous encounters. Evans rallied back behind a powerful serve and commanding forehand to take the next three games and the match.

"There wasn't a college player in the country who could have beaten her today," said Usher. "All of her past problems--her over-hitting, recklessness, lack of planning--she's corrected them all. It shows the commitment she had over the summer to improving her game."

In other matches, Crimson second seed Erika Smith beat her opponent, 6-4, 6-1, while third-seeded Robin L. Boss, a freshman, won easily, 6-1, 6-0. Fourth-ranked Kathy Vigna won 6-2, 6-3, and fifth ranked Erica Schulman came from behind in the first set on the way to a 6-4, 6-3 win. Team Captain and sixth Crimson seed Debbie Kaufman was the only singles player to lose a set to a Terrier, taking a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory.

All three of Harvard's double matches went to three sets. The first-seeded duo of Evans and Boss chalked up the easiest victory, with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 win, while Schulman and junior Deanne Loonin won the number-three doubles match, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3. But the second-seeded pair of Kaufman and Smith suffered Harvard's only loss of the day, B.U.'s Sheehan and Dawn Olson taking a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.

Now 2-0 in its fall season, Harvard holds an enviable position--that of a defending co-champion with all eight of last year's letter-winners back. The regular number-two player, senior Maria Pe, has decided to sit out the Fall season, but will return for the spring campaign. Pe holds the women's single's record at Harvard with 107 wins.

"Our goal is to be the best in the East, which we proved we could do last year by beating Princeton, 6-3, who had been voted the best," said Usher. "We've got good depth, good talent, and we're a good team."

The Crimson will travel to Princeton Friday to play in the ECAC Championships.