Winter Sports

Think of Harvard sports in terms of bangs and whimpers.

The football team whimpered when the Multiflex rolled over and died during The Game. The women's soccer and lacrosse squads set off strings of little explosions en route to national tournament berths.

But the men's hockey team recorded the biggest bang of all, copping the Beanpot title for the first time since the second Monday in February, 1977. Coming as it did in the midst of a season characterized by nothing much of anything (the team failed to qualify for the ECAC playoffs), the "Pot win shocked the Boston hockey elite, if not Crimson coach Billy Cleary.

Other impressive performances--both by teams and by individuals--highlighted a generally successful winter sports season. The men's basketball squad's 16-10 season ranks high on the list, if only because the record contrasts sharply with the aura of pusillanimity that has followed the hoopsters in recent--and not so recent--seasons. The old and the new mixed effectively for the Crimson quintet, with senior co-captains Mark Harris and Tom Mannix leading a relatively young squad.

Two rookies played regularly, Joe Carrabino, starting at forward, and Monroe Trout, coming in off the bench. Trout led the squad in rebounds, while Carrabino placed second to all-Ivy swingman Donald Fleming in the scoring department. Speaking of the old and new of Harvard basketball, the IAB--which is nearly as old as Crimson superfan Henry Zimmerman--bit the dust at the end of the season. The hoopsters will move into a spanking new home in renovated Briggs Cage next year.

Both the men's and women's squash teams fared well, with the men grabbing the national six-man title away from Princeton. The women's team lost just one match, falling to the Tigers in a tough contest.

Coach Joe Bernal's aquamen conducted business as usual down at Blodgett pool. Led by former Olympic silver medalist Bobby Hackett, the Crimson racked up an undefeated dual-meet record and then rolled over all comers by scoring a record number of points at the Eastern Seaboard Championships at Dartmouth. A strong crop of freshmen--including Mike Miao and Tony Meier--helped the Crimson maintain its preeminence over all Eastern competition. Since the arrival of Hackett and Bernal in 1977, the Crimson has lost just one dual meet, easily making it the most successful squad in recent Harvard sports history.

At the other end of Blodgett, new women's coach Vicki Hays inherited a team weakened by the retirement of several premiere performers and guided the squad through a mediocre season. Besides the performances of freshmen Debbie Zimic and Jeanne Floyd, highlights included senior captain Debbie Jacobs' winning a Rhodes Scholarship.

A pair of women's squads enjoyed less than successful seasons. The women's hockey team entered the Ivy Tournament with several solid games behind it and with hopes for a high finish in the tourney. The team finished last. With Elaine Holpuch in the pivot, the women's hoopsters posted an unimpressive 8-18 mark, fluctuating wildly between occasionally effective play and abjectly abysmal contests.

The two tencing teams fared well and, at points, even spectacularly. The men's foil squad garnered Harvard's second national title by copping the Ironman Trophy for the first time in 50 years. The women won the New England championships.