Racquetmen Top Penn; Racquetwomen Stop Elis

Clutch. The Harvard men's squash team personified the word this weekend. Playing against a UPenn team that was considered strong but not a true threat, the racquetmen rallied for a last minute, 5-4 victory over the Quakers Saturday in Philadelphia.

If Mickey Spillane knew anything about sports, he might have written the scenario. The courts were hot and fast, inhospitable to the Crimson shotmakers who lacked the all-important home advantage. But the Crimson was undaunted, jumping out to an early lead with Brad Desaulniers, Chip Robie, Geordie Lemmon and Clark Bain notching convincing wins over their Quaker opponents.

The racquetmen dropped some matches, but even their losses were impressive. In the seventh spot John Dineen was edged out in the fifth game of his match by a mere point, and number two Mitch Reese lost in a fifth game tie-breaker to Bryan Roberts, who until this match had played in the top slot for UPenn.

And with Crimson losses in the sixth and ninth positions, the Quakers had evened the bout at four apiece. Left to carry the Crimson was freshman Jim Lubowitz, who in the number eight slot had taken the first two games with a pair of tie-breaker victories at 17-16.

With his parents in the stands, Lubowitz--a Philly native--dropped the third game and then found out during the break between games that the Crimson's fate rode on his match.

"I just pretended that someone else was playing on another court. (Harvard coach) Dave (Fish) and Mark (Panarese, Crimson assistant coach) told me to wait on my shots and take my time."

That seems to be all Lubowitz needed. He returned to the court and clinched the match with a routine 15-7 victory. Afterwards, he said modestly about his victory, "Well, it really felt good." Team captain Clark Bain differed slightly, saying of the entire match, "Actually, it was pretty scary."

The win over the Quakers keeps alive Crimson hopes for a second place Ivy finish. To secure that position, the racquetmen must defeat Yale on Tuesday at Hemenway. This year's Eli team, the strongest in recent years, should make the match the most exciting home bout of the season.