Undefeated Racquetmen Romp; Shut Out Engineers

Jack Barnaby's undefeated racquetmen once again showed off their awesome powers as they marched over MIT in their seventh victory of the season.

Playing without captain Glenn Whitman, the team demonstrated its depth by registering its fifth 9-0 shutout this year.

Peter Blasier, who moved up into the number one spot in the absence of Whitman, kept MIT star Masod Ahmed running and won the first two games of his match, but he could not maintain the pressure and lost a listless third game, 5-15. Both tired in the fourth and Blasier demonstrated superior control, winning the game and his match.

After a slow start, Dick Cashin went on to overpower MIT opponent Bruce Rhodes. Cashin lost his first game but put together some impressive series of shots in taking his next three games, 15-7, 15-12, 15-12.

Number three man Archie Gwathmey also got off to a slow start with an 11-15 loss to MIT's William Young, but he found the touch in the next three games, winning each by a close margin. Gwathmey's consistency proved too much for Young, who often wasted excellent shots in an erratic performance.

Warm-Ups

The next four matches proved easier for the Crimson racquetmen, who won all their games by wide margins.

Chamin Tang was the only MIT player who lasted longer than five games against the Crimson. In his second and third games he squeaked by Steve Mead, 18-16 and 15-10, and jumped out to a 2-1 lead. Mead overcame the lead with decisive victories in the final two games, outdistancing Tang by a total margin of 18 points.

Barnaby said that MIT was only a "warm up" for the team's match against Princeton this Saturday, when the players should be at their "peak."

"Princeton is the big one," Barnaby said. "They are a good team and we think we're a good team, and we're going to see who is better."

Princeton will be the third Ivy League opponent Harvard has faced this year. The team has already beaten Dartmouth 7-2 and shut out Cornell, both much weaker than Princeton.

A victory over Princeton would be the team's 50th without a loss.