Racquetmen Overwhelm Engineers; Crimson Takes 27 Straight Games

Harvard's varsity squash team crushed M.I.T. last night, 9-0, to win its second straight match of the season. As in the victory over Army Saturday, the Crimson won 27 straight games to give coach Jack Barnaby his 301st squash victory.

Before the match, the M.I.T. team disguised themselves as mediocre players and told the Harvard team that the varsity squad had not reserved the courts until 7 p.m. When the designated hour rolled around, the skinflint Engineer manager finally consented to "lend" Harvard some squash balls to practice.

Strong Vocabulary

M.I.T.'s captain and number one player, Steven Cross, displayed some strong serves and an equally strong vocabulary as he rushed to an 11-2 lead in the first game against Dave Fish. But Cross lost that first game 15-12, and then sulked to a straight set defeat.

"I'd rather play a hard hitter." Fish said. "You don't have to worry about any tricky shots."

Defensive Style

The only other close game was at number nine where Neil Vosters beat Mike Gustin, 18-15, 15-13, 15-7. Vosters dominated the match when he played aggressively, but he slipped into a defensive style several times and had to rally to sweep the match.

Junior Lowell Pratt turned in the most lopsided victory. Pratt displayed a wide variety of shots at number eight and never let up on a return as he beat Engineer Rich Roth, 15-7, 15-8, 15-7.

The courts had wooden wall that gave a big bounce to the ball. Harvard, more accustomed to a lob game and soft touch, had to adapt to the livelier back and front walls.

"I caught on after a few points," Jaime Gonzalez said. "Once I started hitting some shots, he didn't have any returns."