West Point Bows To Squash Team

Rallying in the face of seemingly certain defeat, the unbeaten varsity squash team virtually clinched its second straight national championship Saturday with a heart-stopping 5 to 4 victory over powerful Army at West Point.

The previously unbeaten Cadets jumped off to an early lead by winning four of the first six matches to be completed. The Crimson, faced with the unenviable task of having to win all of the three remaining singles to pull out the match, soon found itself in an even more desperate position. Number two man Larry Brownell and number four Mike Ward each dropped two of the first three games, while Bob Brown found himself behind 1 to 6 against his Army opponent. Only a single game stood between the Cadets and an easy victory.

But all three Crimson players refused to lose hope, and all three Army opponents cracked under the tremendous pressure. Brownell finally pulled out his match by 15-7, 9-15, 12-15, 15-10, and 15-8 scores. Ward rallied to win 15-18, 15-4, 16-18, 15-12, 15-12, and Brown gained at 10-15, 15-8, 15-10, 15-11 win to clinch the victory for the Crimson.

Other Crimson winners included Paul Garrigue and Batts Wheeler in four games each.