Princeton Racquetmen Will Try To End Crimson Winning Streak

It's up to Princeton, squash fans.

If the Tigers fail to end Harvard's 47-match winning streak at Hemen-way Gymnasium this afternoon, the Crimson will probably romp for at least another two years without losing a match.

The cream of Ivy squash will be graduating from Princeton, Penn, and Yale. Harvard, on the other hand, has a strong reserve of underclassmen to rely on for the next couple of years. Crimson varsity will probably Comp for at least another two years without losing a match.

Conroy's teams have had their chances before--much better chances than today, in fact. Two years ago Princeton held a 4-3 advantage and led by a 14-10 score in the final game of the deciding match. Harvard won the game and the match, 5-4.

Last year Princeton jumped to a 4-1 lead before Jack Barnaby's boys started their annual comeback. In the crucial match, Crimson senior Bill Morris battled back from a 2-1, 13-9, deficit to edge Princeton's Burt Gay. Needless to say, Harvard won again, 5 to 4.

This year Princeton has five of its nine starters back again, three of whom won 3-0 decisions against Harvard last year.

Captain Burt Gay, winner of the New York Invitation Tournament over Christmas vacation and top-rated collegian in the country, will probably play number one for the Tigers. He'll be pitted against Harvard captain Dinny Adams in a match which looks like a tossup.

Tennis star Keith Jennings, one of the quickest and most graceful athletes in the East, will probably play in the second spot for Princeton, though he gained the number one berth over Gay for the Navy match last Saturday. Harvard's second man, sophomore Jose Gonzalez, should have a slight edge if he faces Jennings.

The outstanding Crimson sophomore, Rick Sterne, will probably face Tom Gilbert in the third match. Gilbert, a senior who has improved rapidly in the past year, shell-shocked Harvard's Craig Stapleton last year for a quick 3-0 victory. Nevertheless, former collegiate freshman champ Sterne looms as Harvard's most likely winner.

Senior Walt Smedley, another hard-hitting Tiger who won against Harvard last year, is the most likely candidate to face Todd Wilkinson in the fourth match. Wilkinson, "Harvard's fourth number one man" according to Coach Barnaby, has never lost a varsity match.

Where Princeton might pull a couple of wins is in the middle of the lineup. Junior Nick Kourides (the only non-senior in the Tiger top six), a surprisingly Improved Bill Reed, and Stew Marr. They'll face Steve Simpson, Stapleton, and Peter Brooks in the fifth sixth, and seventh matches.

Simpson, recovered from a back injury, is now playing at full steam again. Barnaby feels that Stapleton and Brooks have both raised their squash games up a couple of levels in recent months.

A couple of sophomores Chris Mayer d John Duer, fill the bottom of the Tiger lineup, and they'll have their hands full trying to shake Harvard's Matt Hall and Gordon Black.

"For the first time this season," says Barnaby, "I feel that we have a strong starting nine all the way down the ladder. Hall and Black have been coming along exceptionally well."

Tiger coach Conroy has not disclosed the starting Princeton lineup, and he may well pull some surprises today. But no matter how the Tiger lineup may vary, Harvard should have an edge in three of the top four matches.

By normal standards, Harvard rates as a favorite over Princeton by a couple of matches today, especially on the home courts. But as the Crimson has shown in the last two years, a couple of reversals can change a 6-3 victory into a 5-4 loss.