Varsity Lacrosse Opens '63 Season With Annual Swing Through South

With the graduation of such stellar 1962 performers as Grady Watts, Woody Spruance, Dave Grannis, and Henry Field, the varsity lacrosse team rates as the major mystery of the Spring sporting season. Coach Bruce Munro's current squad includes the switch of veteran personnel to new positions and will depend heavily upon a whole host of untested sophomore stickmen.

New England's persistently foul weather has added its own contribution to the list of Crimson uncertainties by keeping the varsity in Briggs cage for the entire month of March. Unable to conduct a single genuine practice session on a lacrosse field, Munro must somehow prepare his team for the Spring opener with Hofstra next Monday.

One of the crucial factors of the season will be the performance of "Tink" Gunnoe in his new role as a varsity attackman. The ambidextrous junior was the Crimson's best all-around midfielded in his first season as a varsity competitor an is probably among the top ten players in the nation at that position.

In his new offensive role, Gunnoe must provide the kind of pin-point passing that All-American Grady Watts supplied in recent seasons and will be used primarily as a feeder and play-maker for the varsity strong, but inexperienced mid-fielders. The 5 ft. 10 in. stickman has looked good in Briggs cage work-outs and could be the key to another strong season for the Crimson.

Many of Gunnoe's passes will be going to the varsity's top-scorer and crease attackman Lou Williams. The one sure quantity in a sea of uncertainties, Williams should rank high in national scoring for the second straight year and is strong enough to help out on defense as well.

Two sophomores, Dick Ames and Bill Kean, will probably share the monumental chore of keeping up with Williams and Gunnoe as the third attackman. Ames, who seems to have fully recovered from a recent knee operation, holds the distinction of being the squad's biggest question mark, but, like Gunnoe, has "looked impressive" to date.

Crimson strength lies in the many mid-fields that Munro will use to wear down opponents with less middle depth. Boasting three good units and possibly a fourth, the Crimson will be able to run with any team in the Ivy League and could give Southern teams a real battle. Wally Whitney, Pete Wood, and "Tink" Leroy will probably form Munro's start- ing trio and could be a good extra-man unit as well.

Defensively, the varsity is probably better off than last year, according to Munro. Captain Al Straus and Charlie Kessler are proven performers in front of Gil Leaf in the Crimson nets. Veteran Chip Gray along with sophomores Fred Gates, John Carroll and Ron Jennings will vie for the third defensive spot and supply depth and insurance for Munro's secondary.

Indoor Practices Harmful

Predicting what this agglomeration of talent and depth will produce on its annual spring trip to the Southlands is difficult because of the squad's inability to hold practices as a team with full-field scrimmages. Briggs Cage is admirably suited for individual heroics and stick-handling but is absolutely useless in terms of organizing a team effort. With so many sophomores and a noticeable lack of out-door play, the varsity will probably be a painfully uncoordinated collection of individuals in its early season efforts.

Harvard will face Hofstra next Monday--a team it has beaten regularly in past seasons. Rutgers, on April 2, will provide much tougher opposition. The Knights boast a powerful offense led by attackman Bob Valestra. Valestra scored six goals against the Crimson last year with one arm in a cast and his left leg wrapped from ankle to thigh. A healthy Valestra is beyond immediate comprehension