Racquetmen Take Five-Man Title; Jernigan Claims Amateur Crown

The Harvard men's squash team swept the United States Squash Racquets Association (USSRA) national amateur championships, held at Yale this weekend, claiming the national five-man championship, the only title which cluded the racquetmen last year.

In the individual event, Kenton Jernigan defended his title as national amateur champion with what Harvard Coach Dave Fish called, "an absolutely brilliant display."

The Crimson got its revenge on the Mexican national team, which had beaten the racquetmen for the title the previous year, with a 5-0 thrashing that Fish labelled "a big upset."

It's hard to imagine how anything could be called an "upset" for a Crimson squad which had beaten all eight of its previous opponents by a combined total of 70-2, but since it was playing without the services of its top four players, the victory was unexpected.

With Jernigan, David Boyum and Rusty Ball competing in the individual competition and Richard Jackson lost to injury, the Crimson looked like a longshot to recapture the five-man title which it had held in 1983.

The loss of Jackson put our team in a position of playing to win instead of playing not to lose," Fish said.

And play to win they did, cruising through the tournament field without losing a single match.

The racquetmen faced Penn in the opening round and crushed the Quakers, 5-0, while playing three spots over their heads (Harvard's regular number five man. Peter Dinncen, faced Penn's regular number two).

The Crimson next met Navy and, playing up four spots, shut out the Midshipmen to advance to the semifinals.

Harvard shut down Boston number one, a team comprised of the Hub's best amateurs, coming away with another 5-0 win in the semis.

The Harvard victory set up a repeat of last year's final with Mexico. But this year, injuries and all, the Crimson was not to be denied.

"Everyone was pretty nervous because they had beaten us last year," sophomore Joe Dowling said. "But we were mentally tough."

The first two matches to be played were at four and five, where fresh Darius Pandole and Jack Polsky each won pivotal 3-2 victories.

"When we won both of those matches it was an emotional stirge for us," Fish said. "It looked as though we'd come away even at best."

Carrying a 2-0 lead into the final three matches, the top of the Harvard lineup continued the sweep. Dowling came away with a convincing 3-0 victory at number three, while top seeded. Dinncen defeated Mexico's Isaac Kirel, 3-1.

Number two Kevin Jernigan fell behind 2-1 to Jose Juis Mendes but came back to beat the Mexican in five games.

The victory over Mexico was especially satisfying for the racquetmen not only because it avenged last year's loss but also because it came despite the injury to-Jackson.

"Playing without Jackson made it really sweet," Fish said. "This is one of those memorable victories the guys will never forget."

Out of This World

In the individual competition, Kenton Jernigan won his third straight national amateur championship, defeating Paul Durateny in the finals, 3-0.

"He beat him everywhere," exclaimed Fish. "It was the best match I've ever seen Kenton play."

The Crimson can also wrap up the national nine-man championship with victories over Dartmouth. Yale, and Princeton this week. The racquetmen will then travel to Army during the first weekend in March to compete for the national six-man championship.

"I'd like to go for the big three this year," Fish said.

Now that the biggest obstacle, the five-man championship, is out of the way, the Crimson looks simply unstoppable.