Racquetwomen Sink Penn As Depth Proves Pivotal

Two superstar freshmen do not a squash team make.

Penn found that out yesterday at Hemenway when a Harvard team, playing well below full strength, had little trouble dismantling the Quakers, 5-2.

Each year in sports where talent peaks at an early age there occurs a recruiting war among colleges to attract as many senior high school stars as possible. It happens in most women's sports but is particularly apt with racquet sports.

In the squash world this year the University of Pennsylvania won the war hands down, capturing arguably the two best freshmen ever to play on the same college team. Alicia McConnell has the past three national junior titles to her credit and last weekend became the best female squash player in the United States with a victory in the nationals in Washington, D.C.

Not wanting to be forgotten. Karen Kelso has done quite well for herself at number two Kelso is currently the third-ranked player in collegiate squash and earlier this year won the Princeton Invitational tournament, leaving Harvard's dazzling freshman duo Diana Staley and Mary Hulbert and assorted others in the dust.

Nagging Injuries

But the difference in yesterday's match was clearly Harvard's depth. Playing without Staley and Captain Courtney Stimpson--both out with shoulder injuries--the racquetwomen coped nonetheless by sweeping the bottom five matches after succumbing to McConnell and Kelso at numbers one and two.

J.V. Stalwarts Josie Iselin and Betsy Howe, both sophomores, took advantage of varsity playing time by dominating their weaker Penn rivals at number six and seven.

Meanwhile, Laura Kaye, scored another of her typical landslides, despite moving up a position to number three and despite having missed a week of practice because of strep throat. Not one to look for excuses. Kaye whipped Penn's Ana Brady, 15-9, 15-5, 15-3.

Lisa Harrison also won for the racquetwomen, needing four games to dispense with Kim Miller, and Lili Pewdefeated an old high school friend, Beth Ringe, in four games to cop a win in the fifth slot.

Courage Falters

In the best match of the day. Harvard's Jackie Corrigan put up a gallant fight against the favored Kelso before falling in five games Corrigan won the first and third games, but then dropped the fourth stanza, 15-10. Undiscouraged, the Harvard junior stayed close to Kelso in the fifth game and recovered from two match points at 14-12 to even the score Kelso prevailed, however, winning the next three points to take the match.

Faced with the humbling task of challenging the nation's finest. Hulbert lost in three close games in the battle between number one freshmen heavyweights. Penn's McConnell used a perfected combination of quickness and raw power to keep the Crimson ace of balance and impress much of the gallery "She looks like a linebacket," one of the partixan crowd noted of the muscular McConnell.