Closing on the Big One: Squash News

"When it comes to Princeton, anything can happen; you throw out everything. It's always the big battle." John Dinneen, number six on the Crimson's men's squash team, articulated as simply and accurately as possible the way it is between these two schools who meet tomorrow afternoon at Hemenway.

For much of the season the Tigers had been favored to take this year's edition of the rivalry and the almost automatic nine-man national championship that goes with it. But after his squad beat Army 9-0 late in December, Harvard coach Dave Fish felt confident enough to claim that after looking up at Princeton all season. "We can now look them eye-to-eye." Army coach Paul Assaiante echoed Fish: "Princeton's pretty lough, but on racket skills, Harvard's probably better."

On racket skills Princeton has been better all along. Any progressive equality between the two teams over the course of the season has been forged by the Crimson's refinement of those racket skills to the point that they can slice through the bludgeoning of the typical college game.

Says Fish, "We've got some kids who might tend to be overpowered. Our growth is that we've learned to drive better. We've learned to play more position points."

There is indisputably such a thing as the "Harvard game" in squash. Jack Barnaby instituted it and molded it into his legacy. Dave Fish, Barnaby's disciple, adopted it and refined it. Collegiate squash by nature has evolved into a banging, physical one. Games drag to become long, tough, and grinding. Coaches tell their players to go out and hit the ball 100 times, beat it until the opponent dies.

Disregarding any parochial bias, the Harvard game is different. The aim is to keep the opponent off balance. Angles, drop shots and finesse create the attack. "Funny stuff," some call it.

It's a style that's vulnerable. Like the Multiflex, when the Harvard game is not sharp, the mistakes are bigger and more obvious. But, as Fish says, "The one thing a Harvard player will take with him when he leaves is a complete game.

"Princeton has the big names, the big hitters. That just makes it that much bigger for us."

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The most fortunate consequence of David Boyum's sitting out the Williams match two days ago was the much accelerated competition the rest of the team was able to face playing up a notch. Particular benificiaries have to be Chip Robie and Spencer Brog. Both played tough and tension-filled five-game matches, entities which have been few and far between for anyone on the team this year. If you've done anything athletic, you know how much experience in tight situations means when you get into them again. Tension just kind of creeps up on you.

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Brad Desaulniers left town the day before yesterday and had this to say about his semester sabbatical.

"Some people thought it might have been related to the fact that David Boyum is here, but it had nothing to do with that." (Boyum posed a strong threat to Desaulniers' number-one position).

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"A lot of it does have to do with squash, though. I've had a very bad eight months. My training has deteriorated and my game has gone down mentally and physically. I feel like I want to get in there and do some serious squashing for a while."

It'd be neither a poor reflection on the sophomore nor surprising if the pressure of trying to follow in his brother's footsteps played a role in his decision. Constant comparisons to and queries about the second-best squash player in the world have got to be tough.