Fall Sports Teams Elect New Captains

A question for all you casual Harvard sports fans out there: which House, in the past week, booted its way to a 1-0 victory in the championship game to snag the House soccer title, pranced to the intramural touch football crown with a 12-7 aerial bombing of Mather, romped to Harvard's only triumph over Yale in House vs. College tackle football action and had four of its residents elected captains of next season's fall sports squads?

Kirkland, right? All those Nautilus victims in their gray sweatshirts. Nope. Winthrop, perennial intramural powerhouse? Wrong. The answer is Quincy House.

What!?! Q-World? Home of the Space Table and bastion of mediocrity? No longer. The age of stereotypes is over. Winthrop is losing its exclusive rights to the Straus Cup, Kirkland isn't the only House that pours bodies into Dillon Field House every day, and even Joe Restic frequents the Quincy dining hall in tribute to the emergence of Q-World Sports.

Good Jocks

The four Q-Manoids who were honored by their teammates with captainships this week are the core of next fall's Crimson sports brigade. Steve Potysman of varsity football, Jim Langton of varsity soccer, Mark Meyer of cross contry and Julie Brynteson of women's soccer share some common traits--they're all consistent performers, quiet leaders, and very talented jocks.

Getting Even

Potysman, a native of Northbrook, Illinois, got even with the Harvard Stadium announcer who can't pronounce his name when his hard hitting style and brilliant pass defense marked him as THE prominent figure in the Crimson secondary this fall.

"It's a great honor to be able to work with the guys on this team," Harvard's 105th football captain said yesterday. "Everybody's so close on our team that my job should be easy. People really want to put out--not for themselves, but for everyone else," he added.

"Potty" has his sights set on next year, when the Crimson, with seven of their nine games at home and a host of returning lettermen at key positions, will "have everything going for us."

Langton, the new chief of Harvard's soccer contingent, is also psyched for next season. Jimmy, who anchored the Crimson defense this past fall, hopes to steady the uneven keel which caused the team's remarkable comeback from a dreadful 1976 campaign to fall short of a playoff berth. "My role is to keep our concentration level up," the friendly native of State College, Pa. said after his election. "Our intensity dropped a few times this year--like against Tufts and Williams. My job is to maintain a certain level, to achieve some consistency," he explained.

Steady Performance

Meyer, too, hopes to steady his performance, after his fine start this season was marred by a nagging ankle injury. Injuries to Meyer, Peter Fitzsimmons, Stein Rafto, Rocky Moulton, Thad McNulty and promising freshmen Noel Scidmore and John Murphy (who ran a 4:07 mile in the first meet of the indoor track season this year) literally incapacitated the harriers during this year's disappointing 2-7 campaign. But next season could be very different.

"If we get a few breaks, we're just gonna be hell on wheels," the new captain, with a gleam in his eye, claimed last night. "We definitely have the people, it's just a matter of if we can stay healthy," he said.

Meyer, who like most devoted runners competes during the indoor and outdoor track seasons once cross-country is over, hopes to "set an example through dedication." Mark claims that "my biggest role is to keep spirit high."

Spirit was the trademark of the women's soccer team this year. Brynteson, only a sophomore, was one of the most productive scorers on the young team from her left wing position. Julie was one of the prime reasons that Bob Scalise's troops posted their outstanding 9-2-1 record this fall, as her well-placed crosses and booming shots confounded opposing goalies throughout the season. The Minneapolis native will share the captain's duties with Paula Levihn who, it must be admitted, lives in Kirkland House.

I guess some things never change.