Harvard Hosts Hemenway Showdown

Hemenway Gymnasium is being invaded. At first sight it looks like a preppy convention from a page of Lisa Birnbach's "Preppy Handbook."

The L.L. Bean boots are ever-present at courtside. La Cost shirts sporting their alligators, have arrived in droves. And bright sweaters seem to round out the dress code.

But the women at Hemenway this weekend are not ordinary preppies. They carry squash racquet and collectively represent the best college players in the country.

Included in their ranks is freshman Alicia McConnell, a product of New York City and UPenn, and the odds-on favorite to walk away a winner after Sunday's final.

McConnell's reputation is based on an impressive track record. So far this year she has won the national junior title (her third) and the national championships, leaving her only the intercollegiates this weekend to complete the first triple crown in the history of women's squash.

McConnell is hard to miss. Big, strong and exuding a justifiably confident air, she has the habit of pulverizing balls on the squash court. She is also equipped with an uncanny sense of timing and finesse, complementing her power.

Despite these credentials, McConnell will not win the intercollegiates by default, Fifty-nine other players, from 22 different schools, will be vying for the coveted title. Trinity's Nina Porter, a virtual one-woman team who led her squad to third place in the national rankings this season, is the second seed and the only player to have beaten McConnell this year. A sophomore, Porter knows what it's like to be overshadowed--she finished runner-up to Pine Manor's Jane Giammatti in last year's intercollegiates.

Other challenges are Karen Kelso, number two behind McConnell at UPenn: Zerline Goodman, the Yale ace: and Joanne Sherry, tops at Princeton.

Leading the Harvard squad is freshman Mary Hulbert, the tourney's fourth-seed. Hulbert is likely to face McConnell in the semis, where she will have the opportunity to avenge a straight-game demolition by the UPenn star last weekend in Hemenway.

The remainder of the Crimson contingent, flaunting new sweats and a victory in the team championships in New Haven a month ago, are spread throughout the draw, Jackie Corrigan and Laura Kaye will try to improve on their finishes in this tournament last year, when they were ranked thirteenth and fourteenth in the nation, respectively.

Harvard's fourth entry, Lisa Harrison, has been sidelined for the intercollegiates the past two years but is currently playing at the height of her game. The Harvard junior is likely to have a rematch in the second round against Princeton's Denise Galambos, a player she lost to three weeks ago.