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.

Palandjian is recovering after winter surgery on his playing hand. The senior had a good fall, reaching the Rolex ITCA Easterns doubles semifinal with partner Jon Cardi, before having surgery on his left hand.

Leschly--a sophomore who is returning to the team after suffering a back injury--has played mainly number-two singles and second and third doubles.

Cardi also had an impressive fall. The freshman reached the New England "B" singles semifinals and quarterfinals of the Rolex ITCA Easterns.

Berry has been outstanding since he moved up to the varsity team when several of his teammates went down with injuries last year. The sophomore won the New England "B" singles in November.

At number-five singles is Hank Parichabutr, one of the three Crimson players that missed last year because of injuries. He teamed up with Leschly to reach the Rolex ITCA Easterns doubles quarterfinals.

Ravi Kumar, Rob Soni, Ken Hao and John Stinebaugh round out the team.

With such a balanced line-up, the Crimson is one of the favorites to win the EITA title. Brown, Columbia, Princeton and Yale are the other contenders.

Outside of the EITA, Harvard will look to make its mark in national competition. The Crimson takes on some of the best Western teams during its spring trip tp California Western and Southern teams had continually dominated the national tennis scene.

West Virginia (ranked 19th in the nation) will probably give Harvard its hardest test in the East.

The Crimson will face highly-ranked teams during its spring break trip, where it will compete in the prestigious Cal-Irvine Tournament. U.C.-Irvine (ranked fourth in the nation) and many of the nation's top teams will compete in the tournament.

Harvard will then compete against Chapman College, California Polytechnic, UC-Santa Barbara and Penn State.

The netmen open their Ivy season at Columbia (1986-'87 Ivy Champs) on April 8. The Lions are the only Ivy school with clay courts. 1988 MEN'S TENNIS SCHEDULE

March Fri. 25  U.C. Irvine Tournament Sat. 26  (Irvine, Ca.) Tue. 29  at Chapman College Thu. 31  at California Polytech.

April Fri. 1  at U.C. Santa Barbara Sun. 3  PENN STATE Fri. 8  at Columbia Sat. 9  at Pennsylvania Fri. 15  NAVY Sat. 16  W. VIRGINIA Fri. 22  at Brown Sat. 23  at Yale Tue. 26  DARTMOUTH Fri. 29  ARMY Sat. 30  CORNELL

May Mon. 2  PRINCETON