Women's Squash Coach's Contract Is Not Renewed

Paul Moses will not return as coach of the Harvard women's squash team next year because the Department of Athletics has refused to renew his contract.

"I was proud of the team this year and I was proud of the job I did. The decision took me totally by surprise and I think the athletic department made a mistake," Moses said yesterday.

Team members said yesterday the dismissal came as a surprise, but said a communication gap had existed between Moses and the team.

"We did not feel we were improving to the extent of our potential," Jenny Stone, captain of the team, said yesterday.

"He always thought he was right, and we were intimidated," she added.

Moses, who guided the team to an 11-2 head-to-head record this season, replaced Eric Cutler two years ago. The racquet-women finished third in the Howe Cup competition and the Ivy League, trailing Yale and first-place Princeton.

Jack Reardon, director of athletics, declined to comment on the matter yesterday.

Growing Up

"I have a lot of respect for Paul--he has done a tremendous amount for me," Becky Tung, top-ranked racquetwoman and one of the country's most improved players over the last two years, said yesterday. "But lately I felt I was stagnating, and I know others [on the squad] felt the same," she added.

"I really didn't expect this, though. It came as a real shock," Tung said.

One team member said yesterday the team as a whole felt it had not progressed. "We had so much potential, but it just wasn't shining through," she said.

Another team member said Moses "couldn't handle himself with the players," adding that personality conflicts had developed between Moses and some of the players.

Stone said Moses kept the team in good condition, but could not motivate his players for key contests. She cited the Yale match, when the Crimson fell, 5-2, on its home court and lost an opportunity to gain second position in the Ivies, as a good example.

Some team members said Moses was not a good teacher of squash fundamentals.

The Department of Athletics has not yet announced a successor for Moses. "He will be hard to replace, because he was so devoted to us. It was his whole life," Stone said.

Stone said Reardon thought it would be less difficult to release Moses and look for a replacement now rather than wait until he found someone more suitable.

Perfectly Clear

"Reardon believes it would be more difficult after Paul had been around for three or four years," Stone said.

Stone said Moses did not listen to the way other people taught squash, and that she was not sure whether he used proper teaching methods.

"He was a young coach and we just didn't see much potential for his improvement as an instructor," she added.