Harriers to Face Dartmouth In Preview of NCAA Qualifier

Though men's cross country Coach Frank Haggerty says today's meet with Dartmouth is just another race, don't let him fool you. The harriers have been waiting for this showdown all season and skipped the Greater Boston Championship on Tuesday to prepare for it.

Dartmouth was the pre-season favorite to finish atop the league this year along with Princeton, and a victory today in Boston's Franklin Park by Harvard would go a long way towards an Ivy championship for the Crimson.

But the meet has added significance. These two teams will face off again next month in the NCAA Qualifier, to determine which squad receives the second New England berth in the NCAA tournament (assuming heavy favorite Providence takes the first spot).

Although this race has no direct bearing on which team will make the NCAAs, it should give a good indication of the relative strengths of both squads, and the winner of today's race will probably battle Princeton for the Ivy title.

Crimson Captain Paul McNulty says his harriers are ready: "In my career at Harvard we are 0-3 against Dartmouth, and we want to change that now."

The Crimson is 5-0 this season, but hasn't really been tested yet. The Harvard victories include a whipping of Northeastern, shutouts over Columbia and Pennslyvania and routs of Brown and Cornell. But, says senior standout Andy Gerkin, "The season really starts against Dartmouth."

Last year Dartmouth walloped Harvard, 17-38, and went on to finish with a 9-2 record, taking second in the Heptagonals, a race in which Harvard came in fifth.

Returning from that powerful Big Green squad are All-American junior Jim Sapienza and standouts Mike Fadil and Frank Powers. Dartmouth is 6-1 this season, with shutouts of Yale and Columbia, a defeat of Northeastern and wins this past weekend over UConn, UMass, and Williams. The Big Green's only defeat came at the hands of Boston University, the other serious contender with Harvard for a spot in the NCAA tourney.

Harvard will be led by sophomore Paul Gompers, and Co-Captains Felix Rippy and McNulty. The return this year of Bruce Weber and Gerkin after a year away from Cambridge should enhance the harriers chances of upsetting Dartmouth, as both have finished in the top eight in every meet so far this year.

"Nobody on this team has had the pleasure of beating Dartmouth," Rippy said yesterday, "and for the seniors on the team, this year is the last chance. We've had an intimate rivalry with them these last three years, since there's not been much turnover on the two teams We'd like to think that we've come a little farther than they have. We'll find out tomorrow.