Hemenway's Dynamic Duo

Jack and George Polsky have nick-named themselves the dynamic duo.

Jack and George are from New York. Jack was the co-captain of the 1987-88 men's squash team, while George reached number-seven on the ladder.

Jack, three years older than George, came to Harvard first. "I chose Harvard because of its academics and reputation," Jack says. "I also like the squash program."

George had different reasons for picking Harvard. "I had to even out the score," George says, referring to the fact that they already had two brothers at Yale. "Neither Jack nor my other brothers tried to push me either way. They let me decide where I wanted to go."

"[Harvard and Yale] are pretty equal in a lot of things," he continues, "but I really like the Harvard squash team and the fact my brother was going to be co-captain was appealing to me."

Both brothers got their start in squash by watching their father play at the Harvard Club of New York, where they took lessons.

Ironically, both Jack and George started playing squash in second grade.

"We've never had to compete against each other since we were three years apart," George says.

"We did play once in a qualifying tournament," Jack corrects. "I won the match, but it wasn't a very serious match."

"He didn't want it to get serious, so he never let it get too close," George says.

In George, Jack sees a mirror image of himself. Through George, Jack can retrace his career at Harvard.

"It's awesome having a brother here," Jack says. "It's fun to watch him go through what I went through."

"But not make the same mistakes," George interrupts.

"And I watch him make the same mistakes," Jack insists. "I hope I made his year a little bit easier."

For George, having an older brother has enabled him to adjust more readily to his new environment.

Whenever one of the brothers finished his match, the other one would go and watch his brother play. "I made it a point to watch Jack play," George says.

Playing the same sport is an advantage that has enabled them to see each other at least once every day. But the brothers have made it a habit to spend time with each other off the courts. "I talked to him every day," George says.

There are also other advantages of having an older brother. "He also lends me his fake I.D.," George says.

"It's a real I.D.," Jack maintains.

"We hang out a lot," Jack says. "He drags me out to go partying, and he makes the night a lot more fun."

Even though Jack was a captain, he did not give his younger brother any preferential treatment. "Jack was clear never to single me out," George says. "He treated me like the other players."

"Except for extra pushups," Jack says. "George is a lazy person. He's really hard to motivate and he's more stubborn than I am."

And Jack gave George the support he needed on and off the court. "After I was the only one to lose a match against Penn and Navy, he told me that the same thing happened to him when he was a freshman," George says.

"I just told him that you have to get your cuts and bruises," Jack says. "I told him that most freshmen are inconsistent, and that your freshman year doesn't matter."

"I know when to lose, I pick my spots," George quips.

Jim and Jon Maslands and Jack and George Polskys are like the McCoys and Hatfields--except they're both equipped with one-liners, not revolvers.

Of their planned doubles squash match against the Maslands, the Polskys are feeling very confident. "We are clearly the superior athletes," George says. "We're going to use our ESP and cunning ability to destroy them. The Polskys have the necesary tools to pull it out."

"We're Batman and Robin," George says. "The Maslands are the Wonder Kids."

"George is Xavier McDaniel [Seattle Supersonics' forward] with hair, very little at that. George is like a bear that never came out of hybernation," Jim Masland says.

"They don't know what they are getting themselves into," Jack says. "We have the superior mental capacities to beat them at their own game."