Racquetmen Play At Ithaca Today

The varsity squash team has an excellent chance today to finish the first half of its season with an undefeated record. Having routed top contenders Army and Amherst earlier in the month, the Crimson faces its easiest match of the season at Cornell this afternoon.

The Big Red has a history of poor squash teams, and unfortunately for Cornell, this year's squad is weaker than usual.

Cornell has never beaten the Crimson in sixteen years of competition. Last fall it lost all five Ivy League matches and split a pair with lowly Rochester. In Ivy competition, the Big Red won only four points in five matches.

This year, Cornell has lost its top players and coach Ed Moylan has only two experienced players on the starting nine. In its only match this winter, Cornell fell to Rochester, 6-3.

"There's not much to say," Moylan said. "The Rochester score was a fair indication of the strength of our team. We're very inexperienced and we don't have that much talent either."

Cornell's only experienced players are Mark Kaufman, at number one, and co-captain Tom Richardson, at number four. Moylan has high hopes for sophomores Tom Jaklitch (two) and Phil Cheng (nine), Cheng and Jaklitch both won their matches at Rochester.

"You can say we have superior experience," Harvard coach Jack Barnaby said. He could have also used the words talent, training, spirit, and physical conditioning.

The Crimson freshman squad split its December matches, losing to Andover, 3-4, but rebounding for a 9-0 victory against Amherst. Coach Corey Wynn feels the Yardlings have four good varsity prospects in Glenn Whitman, Archie Gwathmey, Jim Evarts, and Ben Pierce. -R.W.G.