Racquetmen Roll Over Princeton, 8-1

Everyone in the crowded bleachers expected a close match. The players and coaches also foresaw a battle. The winner of the contest would be declared the national champion.

Many members of the Harvard and Princeton men's squash teams had confronted one another before. When the teams were introduced at Hemenway Gym Saturday afternoon, there was tension in the air and determination in every eye.

"This is a revenge match," Harvard's David Segal said of the many rematches of last year's contest.

Crimson Co-Captain Jim Lubowitz would face Tiger Luke Evnin, who defeated many of the players Lubowitz has lost to this year.

Harvard's Peter Dinneen would face Bill Ullman, who topped the Crimson junior in five games last year.

Segal would be up against Don Coons. The two had also played a year ago, with Coons coming out on top.

Harvard freshman Joe Dowling and Keen Butcher of Princeton were teammates at Choate last year. Butcher played number one. "Keen was much better than I was," said Dowling.

It looked like it would be a long day of fierce competition and close scores.

But the Crimson walloped a stunned Tiger squad, 8-1, to take the Intercollegiate Squash Racquet Association Nine-Man Championship, which goes to the college team with the best season record.

A shell-shocked Princeton Coach Bob Callaghan credited the Crimson with playing "at the very top of their potential." "On paper, we are as strong as they are," he said. "They just outplayed us."

The Tigers lost three one-point games in the day's very first matches, turning the momentum in Harvard's favor and making a big difference in the rest of the match.

Harvard Coach Dave Fish agreed. "Princeton is very tough. The points went our way today....it made all the difference in the world," he said.

Fish emphasized that the match was by no means a runaway, but once Harvard won the contest with their fifth match victory, the Princeton players lost their incentive. "You lose something when you hear it's over," the Crimson mentor said.

Still, he credited the team with "their best outing of the year," as they ran their dual match record to 9-0.

The Harvard squad played strong up and down the lineup. At number two, David Boyum returned to action after being out for two months with a fractured wrist. Although he claimed he was not hitting the ball crisply and accurately, he combined power and finessse to top Tom Shepherd, 3-1.

After falling behind 2-1, Dinneen fought back to knot the score. "I picked up my tenacity in the fifth game," he said, and pulled out a narrow victory.

Segal took a two-game lead, only to see Coons fight back to tie the score. Some encouraging words from Dinneen inspired Segal to "play out of my head for 15 points," and win the match.

Senior Co-Captains Lubowitz and Spencer Brog turned in two of the best performances of the day, both winning in straight games. "They did exactly as I hoped they would do as captains," said Fish. "We could have really gotten hurt in the middle of the lineup, where Princeton is very strong. Their mental preparation was great," Fish added.

Throughout the contest the partisan Harvard crowd voiced its approval for every Crimson point and its disapproval for frequent bad "let" calls by a Tiger.

"The crowd really helps," said Harvard's national champion, Kenton Jernigan, who defeated Rob Hill at the top seed.

The gallery was especially vocal during the match between Richard Jackson and Tiger freshman Fazal Sheikh. When Sheikh swore at Jackson in the heat of battle, the curse could be heard throughout the bleachers, and elicited hisses and boos from the fans.

Sheikh's obscene gesture to the crowd only made matters worse. But Jackson, who has been sidelined with an assortment of injuries for most of this season, kept his cool. He calmly disposed of Sheikh, 3-0.

Mike Mack, who has been bothered by a bad back for most of the season, suffered the only Crimson loss. Playing with his nagging injury, he was not able to overcome the limits it imposed on him. He fell to Christian Griffin, 3-0.

Yesterday, the racquetmen traveled to New Haven to face Yale in the last dual match of the season.

They assured themselves of an undefeated record, trouncing the Elis, 9-0. All the members of the team played, and Harvard swept all of the matches, 21-0.

The only remaining competition for the Crimson is the MISRA national championships, next weekend in Annapolis, Md. Harvard is the defending national champion and a good bet to repeat.

Harvard 8, Princeton 1

1. Kenton Jernigan (H) d. Rob Hill, 3-1

2. David Boyum (H) d. Tom Shepherd, 3-1

3. Richard Jackson (H) d. Fazal Shekh, 3-0

4. Jim Lubowitz (H) d. Luke Evnin, 3-0

5. Sponcer Brog (H) d. John Buckner, 3-0

6. Peter Dinneen (H) d. Bill Ullman, 3-2

7. Joe Dowling (H) d. Keen Butcher, 3-1

8. David Segal (H) d. Don Coons, 3-2

9. Christian Griffin (P) d. Mike Mack, 3-0

Harvard 9, Yale 0

1. Kenton Jernigan (H) d. Will Carlin, 3-2

2. David Boyum (H) d. Hugh Labossier, 3-0

3. Richard Jackson (H) d. Jeff Kahie, 3-0

4. Jim Lubowitz (H) d. Chese Lanfeet, 3-1

5. Spencer Brog (H) d. Ming Tsai, 3-1

6. Peter Dinneen (H) d. Dom Tordjman, 3-1

7. Joe Dowling (H) d. Ho Talt, 3-1

8. David Segal (H) d. John Chittendon, 3-0

9. Kevin Jemigan (H) d. Peter Gein, 3-0