Wellesley Dumps Radcliffe, 5-0, In Year's First Squash Match

A strong Wellesley team destroyed the season's debut of the fledgling Radcliffe squash team by a 5-0 shutout score.

Because this was the first year the team had formal coaching, the loss to a more experienced Wellesley team was not unexpected. Coach Betty Lincoln '53, who was ranked number two last year in Massachusetts, said "I did not feel disappointed with the outcome. Most of these girls have had no match experience and this is something you have to have to win."

The number two players stole the show in a fast, hard-hitting 3 to 2 match. Both girls dominated the court at various times, with Nancy Anderson of Wellesley scoring four times in overtime during the third game with fast, low reverse-corner shots to overcome senior Donna Lilly.

Top-ranking Radcliffe player Ruth Stevens and Wellesley's Genie Ware played a very tight, smooth match, which fell to Ware, 15-13, 15-2, 15-11. Ware won the intercollegiate nationals last year.

Stevens managed to return many of Ware's hard, well-controlled rail serves and slicing backhand,, but tired in the second game. She made a strong comeback in the final game, tucking the ball continually into the back corner.

Radcliffe captain Beth Goddard, playing number three, was up against a very quick Claire Swanger, who controlled the center of the court and had Goddard on the run with consistently good rail and corner shots. Swanger won easily, 15-5, 15-12, 15-5.

Team hopeful Susan Handy finished closely behind aggressive Laura Lorenz, who maneuvered some good trick corner putaways. Handy tired in the second game from the long rallies but revived in the third, before losing a tight game, 16-15.

The fifth match was grabbed by more-experienced Caroline Ferrar of Wellesley, as newcomer Ellen Fair failed to control the center of the court, but countered with moments of hard, scrambling volley.

Coach Lincoln sees the defeat as not springing solely from the lack of formal playing experience. "There is a cultural problem here. First, Harvard is basically a men's college and these girls are simply not as oriented towards sports as men. Radcliffe admissions just does not seem as interested in athletes as Harvard, but this is not a criticism because times are changing.

"The women play, have tea, and isn't it nice," she continued. "The context is different for them, they are just not starting from the same point."

The Radcliffe team now practices in University courts after being ousted from Hemenway last week in a controversial battle for space. However Coach Lincoln said, "We have everything we could ask for, and this decision was perfectly sensible." The Radcliffe team now uses the over-booked Hemenway courts for games.

The team will play their next match against Exeter at home on January 16, and will meet Yale and Princeton for the first time later in the season.