Last year Harvard Coach Dave Fish said that the only thing that could stop his team from winning a third straight Eastern Intercollegiate Tennis Association title was injuries.

He was right.

Captains: Arkie Engle and Paul Palandjian

1987 Record: 8-9 overall, 5-3 EITA

Home Matches: Beren Tennis Center

The Crimson (2-0 overall) lost three of its top six singles players to injuries and forced the squad to play new number-two and three doubles teams.

The netmen finished with a 5-3 EITA record (8-9 overall), good enough for fifth place. The last time the Crimson finished that low was 1954. But things look better this year.

"The outlook is pretty good," Mark Leschly said. "If Psycho [Jon Cardi], Rogus [Roger Berry] and Arkie [Engle] can stay healthy, we shouldn't have any problems."

"If we're healthy, we can be a really fine team," Fish said. "Our guys take a match off of anybody."

The Crimson (ranked third in the East) is a relatively young team, with three freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and three seniors on the squad.

Fish believes that his young team must show maturity on the court in what expects to be one of the tightest EITA races in a long time.

But with Co-Captains Engle and Paul Palandjian and several young players, the netmen are looking forward to returning to the top of the EITA again.

If Harvard wins the EITA crown, it will advance to the 24-team NCAA playoffs. Twelve at-large bids are distributed, but it is unlikely that an Eastern school would receive one.

Engle had an excellent fall, capturing the National Amateur singles and doubles titles.

The senior advanced to the New England "A" singles final last fall, losing to the nation's number 12 player, Tim Donovan of Brown. Engle also made the ECAC "A" singles final and teamed up with Berry at the number-one doubles position.