Winthrop, Quincy Eye Straus Cup

An incredible comeback in intramural sports by Quincy House has brought it from a sixth-place Fall finish to second and has turned the Straus Trophy competition into a close two-team race between Quincy and Winthrop.

Winthrop is still ahead officially, but if the points from partially finished sports are included, it appears that Quincy is now on top by a few points. Five sports should be completed next week. and the winner of the Straus should be known by the weekend.

"I've had a feeling all along we'd win it." Quincy athletic secretary Rick Barton said Wednesday night as he sat in his living room and watched the Red Sox game.

"I've been bad mouthing our teams all season so that the other Houses wouldn't expect much. But now that we're up there, we're going to flaunt it."

Meanwhile, over in Winthrop, Joe Stiles refused to let the frantic race upset him. Stiles is the athletic secretary. "I feel a sense of challenge, and I think it's good for the program," Stiles said. He said the outcome is a toss-up.

After the winter, Quincy was 47 points behind Winthrop. Since then it has won both volleyball and track and has tied Withrop for the singles rowing title. In the track meet Quincy scored 96 points, while Eliot was second with 27.

Currently, Quincy is leading in tennis and baseball and is second in softball. Winthrop is the favorite in the approaching softball tournament, and is doing well in tennis, baseball, crew, and golf.

Barton is confident. "I think Winthrop is beginning to press." he said Wednesday. "Some people call it choking. Their downfall began when they didn't use girls in the cross-country race." Quincy has three girls on its team, and this Spring fielded a girls' boat for the "B" crew race.

Barton, who is leaving for ten days in Europe next week after the Straus race ends, talked proudly of the spirit in his House. "Take Nicky Nichols. A couple of weeks ago, he got up at 7:30 to row, played softball at 2, tennis at 3:30, and at 8 starred in a play at Currier House. Later he apologized for missing the volleyball game that night."

In its 11 years. Quincy has never won the Straus Trophy. But Barton said his parents hadn't shared his great enthusiasm about it during a recent phone call. Barton said, "I think my mother 'd rather see a Phi Beta Kappa key."