Any sign of a threatening cloud or inclement weather often significantly reduces the prospect of a productive and cheerful day.

For most people, that is.

In the case of the Harvard men's tennis team, any sign of tumultuous weather conditions, or, more simply, water falling from the sky, produces just the opposite effects. Brown  0 Harvard  7

As the Crimson (14-6 overall, 6-0 EITA) showed in yesterday's 7-0 destruction of Brown, it thrives when given the opportunity to play matches in the sheltered confines of Palmer Dixon Courts.

The Crimson's only difficulties occurred before the match was moved indoors.

In doubles, an area where the Crimson has struggled in the past few weeks, the team grabbed the doubles point by winning two out of three matches.

Although it was able to pull through and take the point, the Crimson still showed signs of weakness in this area.

The lone Harvard loss came at second doubles, where freshman Thomas Blake and sophomore Josh Hausman fell 8-5 to the Bears duo of John Nicholson and Todd Myers. Blake and Hausman also had difficulties in last week's win over Princeton.

At first doubles, captain Andrew Rueb and sophomore Mitty Arnold took home a close 8-5 victory.

"They were a better team than I had expected," Rueb said. "But I thought that we were a little bit stagnant--we didn't do a good job of moving and crossing. We were just playing traditional doubles."

Yet Harvard did have an easy time at third doubles, as freshman Philip Tseng and junior Todd Meringoff stomped on the Bears' Jeffrey Barnes and Mark Ghaly 8-3.

If there was ever any question of the outcome during the doubles matches, all doubts were silenced when the match was moved indoors.

"I think that every team fears us indoors because we have a big-hitting team," Tseng said. "Every team wants to play us outside even if it looks like it's going to rain."

At second singles, Tseng's performance exemplified the reasons that other squads fear the Crimson indoors.

Tseng--who had the most dominant performance of the afternoon--routed Nicholson 6-0, 6-1. He is now 4-0 in division matches at this position.