"This is a team of hitters," says Harvard tennis coach Jack Barnaby. "If they're on edge and playing well, they'll win. If they have lapses, they may beat themselves."

With the four top players from last year's undefeated team being challenged by "a wealth of promising material" from below, Barnaby hopes there will be no lapses.

Junior Bernie Adelsberg will play number on again this season. Junior Jose Gonzalez will hold down the number two spot when he recovers from a skiing injury. Captain Brian Davis and senior Dick Appleby round out the top four.

John Levin and Rockey Jarvis, the top players from last year's freshman team, will occupy the fifth and sixth positions. "They have great potential," Barnaby said. "It just depends on how rapidly they improve."

Below the first six Harvard has "as much depth as a squad could hope for. Our number 12 man should win many matches playing at six," Barnaby said. Senior lettermen Dean Bauer, Dud Blodget, George d'Arbeloff, and Dave Hodges along with a host of sophomores also figure in Barnaby's plans.

Barnaby bases his hopes for the season more on the strength of his doubles teams than anything else. "All three doubles teams are number one or high number two caliber. We have a strong hope of winning two or three of the doubles in very match."

Jarvis and Levin will begin the season in the first doubles position. Adelsberg and Gonzalez will play in the second spot. Davis and Appleby are set at third doubles. As in the singles, "Harvard's great strength is that no matter where the teams are juggled, we will be strong at the bottom."

Barnaby expects the Ivy League to be extraordinarily tight. Harvard, Penn, and Dartmouth will fight it out for the championship. Princeton and Yale may cause some trouble. But Barnaby is optimistic. "All these guys are good tennis players. The potential of a good outfit is there."