Racquetmen, Six Men Down, Make Light of Williams, 9-0

The drive was longer than the match.

The nation's number one ranked Harvard men's squash team drove three-and-a-half hours to Williams-town to take on Williams College Wednesday afternoon.

It took the Crimson less than one-and-a-half hours to propel its record to 5-0 on the season with a 9-0 victory.

The triumph also increased the squad's winning streak to 63.

"We played well," Seth Handy said. "After a long drive we had a great performance against a good team."

"I think the guys are playing really well," junior Paul Gardi added. "We try to keep our focus and play the best squash we can."

"Everybody played pretty well," Frank Huerta chipped in. "We went down there and took care of business. They're just not as strong as our team."

The Crimson's victory, the squad's second straight whitewash, was, in a sense, remarkable because Harvard was playing without six regulars, all on the injured list.

Going South

This coming weekend the Crimson heads down to Atlanta for the United States Squash and Racquets Amateur Tournament (USSRA).

The tournament has a different format this year. In past years, players that played for the national singles championship could not compete in the team tournament.

But this year, the singles championship is held on a different date than the team tournament. So now the top players from different teams can compete with their respective teams.

With Co-Captain Russ Ball and Darius Pandole--traditional singles tournament participants--playing, the Crimson is a good bet to recapture the title from Mexico. Last year, the Crimson reached the finals before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Mexicans.

"I think it should make a difference," Pandole said. "This year the rest of the guys won't have to move up two or three spots."

Harvard aims to recapture the National five-man title it last won in 1985. Harvard will be bringing two teams of five players to Atlanta to compete in the four-day tournament.

"It will be a big weekend for us," Handy said. "Princeton will not be there because of exams, but we will meet some tough competition. Yale will be our toughest competition."

"We're looking forward to the match with Yale," Ball said. "They beat us so they are pretty cocky. We're going to kick their butts."

"We'll get some real good matches," Ball added. "We have a pretty stong line-up. It's going to take a pretty good team to beat us."

This year, Harvard may have the right stuff to take the cup.

NOTEBOOK During the Crimson's 63-game winning streak, the squad has won 530 individual matches, while surrendering only 38...Harvard has now recorded 41 shutouts during the streak.