Sports Wrap

The top-ranked Harvard men's squash team entered Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium Saturday with the prospect of capturing its 600th career victory and upping its winning streak to 54 games.

The racquetmen not only accomplished this, but they also knocked off Navy yesterday to give them 55 straight victories, 601st career victories and a 8-0 season mark.

Harvard had to go a long way to prove that it is the nation's finest squash team. But after a 6-3 win over the Tigers in Princeton, N.J. and a 7-2 triumph over the Midshipmen in Annapolis, Md., it proved just that.

In the opening match against Princeton, Harvard's number eight player, Doug Lifford, smashed Princeton's Bill Frack, 3-0, to set the tone for the day.

Harvard freshman sensation John Bernheimer followed Lifford's win with a 15-9, 18-15, 5-15, 15-12 victory over Princeton's John McKay.

Playing at number six, Will Iselin captured the Crimson's third straight win. After falling behind two games to one, Iselin stormed back to win the final two games.

In a flip-flop match, the Crimson's number two player, Rusty Ball, fell to Princeton's Jeff Stanley in five games 15-5, 12-15, 10-15, 15-12, 13-15.

Stanley, the top-ranked amateur player, was playing number two because he lost a challenge match to his teammate Keen Butcher.

But that's the closest the Tigers would get. Harvard's James Gilfillan disposed of Princeton's Bill Frack in only three games to put the Crimson up four games to one.

After scoring the clincher against Franklin & Marshall in January, Harvard's Co-Captain Joe Dowling scored the all important fifth win again against the Tigers.

Dowling squashed Rob McKay, 18-14, 15-11, 15-11, to seal the Crimson's seventh straight win of the season.

Meanwhile, one streak did come to an end. Harvard's other co-captain, Kevin Jernigan, suffered his first loss in four years. Number-five Jernigan lost to Craig Medvecky.