Racquetmen Face Navy in Key Match

The Crimson squash team faces its first real test of the season today as it takes on the Midshipmen from Navy in Hemenway Gymnasium.

The racquetmen are 1-0 following last week's shutout victory over Cornell. The Midshipmen won't be such pushovers; they're undefeated so far this season, and this week they trounced both Amherst and Williams in warmups for today's match with the Crimson.

Navy, still smarting from its 7-2 setback at the hands of Harvard last year, has been preparing for this contest for weeks. Crimson coach Jack Barnaby said recently that Navy "would like nothing better than to be the team to snap our 43-match undefeated string."

Harvard's home-court advantage could be decisive in the match. The graduation-decimated racquetmen have the good fortune of playing Navy, Penn and Princeton, the Crimson's chief rivals for the intercollegiate title, at home this year.

Navy appears to be the weakest of the four top teams, so a loss today would probably knock Harvard out of contention for the title.

Captain Glenn Whitman, playing number one, will face Robbie Dunn, Navy's top player. Whitman beat Dunn in straight games last year and should be able to win again.

The remaining eight positions are not so secure, however. Navy has been practicing since August, and is in far better playing condition than the Crimson, which began formal practices November 1.

Harvard number-two man Peter Blasier predicted yesterday that the Crimson would win because, "Navy just doesn't have our finesse. But they are already in mid-season form, and you should never underestimate Navy."

Archie Gwathmey, Dick Cashin, Jeff Wiegand, Bill Kaplan, Fred Fisher, Jim McDonald and Cass Sunstein round out the top nine for the racquetmen.

McDonald and Sunstein both moved up a notch when Peter Havens, the regular number eight player, injured his ankle.