Harvard Teams Have Little Vacation

While most Harvard students are soaking up the comforts of home or cluttering their local libraries over the Christmas recess, several Crimson sports squads will be competing throughout the country and even in Egypt.

HOCKEY

The hockey team will swing west for its annual holiday bout with top mid-western squads. The Crimson skaters sport a 1-3 overall and ECAC record entering the recess and have yet to win an Ivy League contest--their worst start since the 1964-65 season.

On December 21, Coach Bill Cleary's charges will meet Notre Dame at South Bend, Ind., and are hoping for a repeat of last year's 8-2 romp over the Irish. The team will then travel to Madison, Wisc. on the following day to meet the U.S. Olympic squad, which the Crimson easily handled on November 24 at the Boston Garden, 5-2.

A powerhouse Michigan State team will provide the opposition January 2 and 4 at East Lansing, Mich. Currently on top of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the Spartans should be the toughest test of the holidays for the Harvard skaters.

BASKETBALL

Although the basketball team has had a dismal 1-6 start, the season has not been as bleak as their record indicates.

Against nationally ranked Boston College it took a last second shot to carry the Eagles to a one point victory. The Crimson was trounced Wednesday night by Dartmouth, but only a week before the cagers lost another game in the waning seconds--this time to a strong Fordham contingent.

The hoopsters' erratic play has hindered attempts to predict their season's outcome. The squad will play in two tournaments over the holidays, the results of which should finally settle debate on what the season holds in store.

The Crimson will participate in the Kodak Classic in Rochester, N.Y., December 29 and 30. After opening against Utah, Harvard will meet either Canisius or Rochester the following night.

Washington, D.C., will be the next stop for the cagers, as they face Penn State in the opening round of the Presidential Tournament January 2. Brown will meet the host George Washington five in the second game, and the finals will be held Saturday, January 3.

The team returns to the I.A.B. on the weekend of December 9 to 10 to play a pair of critical back-to-back Ivy League contest against Princeton and Pennsylvania.

CREW

The varsity crew will journey to Egypt for the Nile River Festival Regatta, which begins tomorrow and continues through December 28.

Earlier this year in the same regatta, the Harvard oarsmen lost to a boat of Cairo policemen. Freshman coach Ted Washburn, who is accompanying the crew on this trip has his rowers ready for revenge.

This will be Harvard's fourth trip in five years to the regatta. The Crimson will be the only American boat entered in this year's compeition.

SWIMMING

The Harvard swim team, winners of 22 straight dual meets, have compiled a 2-0 pre-Christmas break record. The Crimson swamped Army, 79-34, in its most recent victory.

The squad is preparing to lengthen its win skein by going to Medellin, Colombia, for a two week training trip. The mermen hope to acclimate their lungs to thin air since the altitude is 6,000 feet in Medellin.

Coach Ray Essick and 23 of his charges will depart for Medellin on December 27 and will work out at the state of Antioquia's Olympic standard facility. Antioquia is the South American sister state of Massachusetts and the trip is being paritally sponsored by the Partners of the Americas.

CLASSICS

The Harvard Classics sport a 5-3 record and, though not as potent as last year, have been impressive in their victories.

The Classics will meet a team from Concord prison in a preliminary match to the varsity contest against Pennsylvania January 10. The game marks the first time that the Concord five have been allowed to play an away contest. As a precaution, they will be accompanied by several guards.