From the Playground to Hemenway Gymnasium

At an elementary school in Santa Barbara, there were two kids who competed for the honor as the best athlete in the school. They only knew each other as Doug and Frank.

Thirteen years later, Doug Lifford and Frank Huerta are now competing together as co-captains and members of the Harvard men's squash team.

"Doug thought he was the best athlete on the playground," Frank says.

Lifford quickly interjects, "I was."

"That's because he cheated," Huerta responds.

"That's beside the point," Lifford says."

"Doug use to beat on the kids at school," Huerta says.

"He remembers because he used to be one," Lifford says, followed by laughter from both players.

When they aren't doing a Laurel and Hardy impersonation, the two are leading the Harvard men's squash team.

While the two are very close friends, they've taken completely different routes to Harvard.

One moved to Boston, while the other stayed in the sun in California. One would excel in squash, the other one in basketball and baseball.

Lifford took up an interest in squash during junior high in Boston, where he moved at the age of eight. At Belmont Hill, Doug helped his team capture the New England Interscholastic Championships.

The Quincy House resident also had an illustrious career on the junior circuit. During his first year in the 18-and unders, he was ranked seventh in the country, but he missed his second year becasue of a broken leg.

Huerta was not so lucky. Since squash isn't played much in California, he took up an interest in basketball and baseball. Squash would become a "recreation" for Huerta.

It wasn't until the 10th grade that he took up the game seriously.

The playground competitors would meet at Harvard under very different circumstances.

Lifford was recruited by several top squash schools, including Princeton and Harvard. Huerta was a non-recruit who was still playing squash as a hobby.

Lifford was able to crack a powerful varsity line-up at number eight, while Huerta was playing second from last on the JV team.

But Huerta moved up to number 16 during his sophomore year. It wasn't until his junior year that he played in some varsity matches and it wasn't until last year that the two realized that they had gone to elementary school together.

"I only knew him as Frank back then," Lifford says. "We weren't really friends."

While Huerta was trying to move up the ladder, Lifford thought it was time to get away from Boston. He spent six months at The University of South Wales in Australia.

It was fun," Lifford says. "I got in a lot of softball squash. But he had to get use to the easy let calls. He lost one match on all let points.

Doug's first match when he returned to Harvard was against Princeton. He defeated Jeff Finkle in four games, which clinched the victory for the Crimson. Not bad for a first match.

"Doug is like a wolf in lamb's clothing," Harvard Assistant Coach Jon Anz says. "As a civilian, he is kind and considerate. But on the court, he is a street fighter. With the gloves off and the knuckles bare--he is simply the very best."

"The best way to describe Doug is as Tysonistic," Polsky says. "He's a real fighter out there and he'll do anything to win that match. Doug's told us many stories of his childhood in Boston when he used to have to fight with kids to get into the lunchline, and Doug of course was always first served. I've seen him crawl, bite, scratch and do nameless other things just to come out with that `W.' In a nutshell, he's the street fighting kid we need on the team."

Huerta was struggling, but he was moving up the ladder. He finally made the varsity line-up during his junior year.

"It was both interesting and exciting," says Huerta, who played in four varsity matches, but missed the Princeton, F&M and Yale match. "I was right there, but I never quite got over the hump."

"They're like poets on the squash court--like [Lord] Byron and [Percy],Shelley and they're so different. They're like fire and ice. I feel like the team is somewhere in between--like lukewarm water," freshman Jeremy Fraiberg says.

"I like to think of Frank as a Jerboa, he's always quick to the ball and gets in and out of the corners real fast," Polsky says. "In one match I saw him dive for the ball 13 times, only to exit the court with bloody knees. He's always functioned marvelously as a role model.

Last spring, Huerta and Lifford were elected co-captains for the 1988-89 season. Both have gained respect from their teammates and coaches.

"Frank leads by example," Anz says. "Simply by watching what he does is all the inspiration you need as a member of the team. He personifies guts."

At the beginning of the year, Lifford reached the number-one spot on the team. He is currently playing number-two. Huerta is playing sixth or seventh, but the non-recruit has secured his spot on the varsity team.

"Doug has precise control," Huerta says. "He's really deceptive. He's also improved his game with a front-court game. He has a very good three-wall-especially when he hits it off his back foot.

But Lifford admits, "I don't do that anymore."

"[Frank] is the Cinderella of the squash courts," Lifford says. "He uses his speed more as an offensive tool now. He can run down practically anything. Well, everythng except for my three-walls."

Both laugh again. Neither one is fighting the other for top honors as the best player or athlete. They're working together to bring another Ivy and national championship to Cambridge.

It sure seems a long way from their playground days in elementary school.