Desaulniers Cops Boston Open Title

The 11th annual Boston Open squash tournament provided for a successful homecoming this weekend for Mike Desaulniers '80. Undefeated in his four years as the Crimson's top-seeded racquetman, the Montrealer continues to reign as king of Hemenway Gym.

Seeded fourth in this weekend's sixth stop on the World Professional Squash Association tour, Desaulniers breezed past Toronto's Gordon Anderson in yesterday's final, easily sweeping all three games, 15-7, 15-8, 15-7.

Captain Returns

Desaulniers, who last year captained the Harvard men's squash team to a national nine-man title--keying upsets over Princeton and Penn--recorded his first victory as a professional on the tour. He also chalked up his first Boston Open win, although he had fallen to Toronto's Clive Caldwell in the 1977 final, his sophomore year.

Yesterday's final was a decisive win as Desaulniers pushed Anderson to frustration early in the match. Impeccable fitness and subtle finesse allowed Desaulniers to utilize his remarkable quickness to the fullest, counterbalancing his opponent's hard hits.

Anderson, among the most powerful players on the pro circuit, was out-maneuvered by controlled volleys and well-disguised winners, the tactics Desaulniers used to such success to wreck his college opponents. Continually thrown off-balance and forced to anticipate too soon, Anderson could not threaten Desaulniers' command of the match at any point.

The tournament, known for producing upsets, continued the tradition this year. Sharif Khan, world champion and number one seed, fell to qualified Mark Alger of Seattle, fresh out of the junior ranks, in five games. Ahead 8-1 in the fifth and deciding game in the quarterfinal round, Khan could not sustain the momentum necessary for victory.

Well-represented in the tournament, the Khan clan maintained its omnipresence in the results of Yusuf and Aziz. Yusuf Khan beat Peter Bostwick in the Grand Masters tournament final. Aziz, loser to Desaulniers in the semis of the main draw, topped Alger for third place.