Harvard Downed In USSRA Bid

Harvard's squash team may be the big chief among colleges, but among the veterans it is still just a little Indian.

Playing in the U.S. Squash Racquets Association Championships at Hartford Saturday, Harvard could muster only a single victory in the individual and team competition. In the individuals, Romer Holleran had trouble starting against former Cornell star Craig Fanning, falling behind 2-0 in games. The Crimson captain rallied to even the match, but then dropped the fifth game, 15-12.

Harvard's five-man squad drew a bye in the first round of the team tournament and lost to Ontario's top amateurs, 4-1 in the second round. Terry Robinson fought off a late surge by Ontario's Don Fontana to win, 3-2, for the lone Crimson victory.

Princeton, 5-4 losers to Harvard a week ago, upset this same Ontario squad in the semi-finals. The Tigers, however, lost in the finals to a heavily-favored New York team, 4-1.

Vic Niederhoffer, last year's Crimson captain, made a strong bid to capture the individual title, but lost in the finals to Steve Vehslage of New York, 11-5, 15-12, 15-9, 15-8. The USSRA championship is the only major amateur squash tournament Niederhoffer has failed win in his five years of play.