Nine Hosts B.U. Today; Racquetmen to Courts; Lacrosse Season Opens

There is a widely-held belief among tennis players that playing squash ruins their game. Three superstars from Harvard's squash team hope to prove that notion mistaken.

Jose Gonzalez, Rick Sterne, and Larry Terrell are squash champions and each has made a successful transition to tennis this spring. As varsity competitors in both sports, they appreciate the differences between the two games. But each claims that playing squash actually improved their tennis talents.

Jack Barnaby, Harvard's varsity coach in tennis and squash, agrees with his players. "What's bad for your tennis is not playing tennis," he says. "This nonsense about transition is all psychological. If squash and tennis were any more similar, they would be the same sport."

Stroke Technique

The question of transition from squash to tennis arises from a difference in stroke technique. A player uses much more wrist action in swinging a squash racket and therefore undercuts his groundstroke. In tennis, the strokes are longer and more graceful. A player often puts overspin on both his forehand and backhand. Tennis strategy also necessitales a factor of restraint which is not present in squash because of the surrounding walls.

Gonzalez, Harvard's tennis captain, admits that he found the transition difficult in prep school. He blames the problem on his then-limited competitive experience in squash. "Each year the change becomes easier," he says. "Now the two sports have almost blended into one."

Unlike Gonzalez, who plays singles and doubles with equal proficiency, squash captain Sterne specializes in doubles on the tennis court. "In squash you must learn to react instantaneously," Sterne says. "I think this gives me an improtant advantage over my opponents in tennis."

Number Two In Squash

Sophomore Terrell is Sterne's doubles partner this spring. Although he held down the number two position on Harvard's National Collegiate Championship team, Terrell is struggling to earn his varsity letter in tennis. Barnaby believes Terrell has a much better future in squash than in tennis at Harvard. "Our tennis season is too short to permit much yearly improvement," he says. "If Larry went to school in the West where he could hit all year around, he could develop into a great tennis player."

Competitive squash is a much smaller world than competitive tennis. Because it lacks prestige, relatively few star althletes play squash seriously. This is much less true in tennis. Gonzalez Sterne, and Terrell generally dominate their opponents in squash. This Spring they must add determination to their racket savvy, if they are to excel on the tennis courts.