Racquetmen Record 2nd Straight Shutout

'Tis the season to wreak havoc for the men's squash team. Yesterday at Hemenway Gym, the Crimson suavely shut out Franklin & Marshall, bringing its season record to an impressive two 9-0 blowouts.

"The guys played a better match today than they did against Navy," said Harvard Coach Steve Piltch. "They took control early and sustained it. They did what they wanted to do out there."

Sophomore City

Sophomores Mark Baker, Jonny Kaye and Jeremy Fraiberg sure did what they wanted to do; they came, they played and they conquered in three brisk matches. Fourth-seeded Co-Captain Jim Masland, who was injured all last year, has returned with a vengeance, whipping F&M opponent Dave Rosen, 15-10, 15-8, 15-6.

Freshmen Marty Clark and Josh Horwitz owned the courts, each controlling the "T"--the center of the court--from the start. Seventh-seeded Horwitz, who's had a "long, ongoing rivalry" with his opponent, Dudley Nostrond, used his newly-acquired, explosive, deceiving forehand to annihilate his opponent, 15-6, 15-8, 15-6. Clark, playing at fifth seed, didn't even let his opponent in the door, shutting him out 15-4, 15-9, 15-5.

So who wasn't thrice victorious? Who didn't create a vacuum of victories?

Moving up a seed from last week, Farokh Pandole started off a little slowly, losing his first game to Franklin & Marshall's Steve Hopkins. "I started off not mentally prepared to push forward," Pandole said. "It was hard to come back and rectify that." But rectify he did--and tore down his opponent's lead, to win the next three games.

At eighth and ninth seeds, Paul Gardi and Seth Handy--both playing in their first varsity match of the season--were also foiled by the Diplomats in their first games. But never fear, they quickly jumped back to the offensive and captured the next three games.

The victory against Franklin & Marshall, which Piltch said would be a "good test of how good we can be," is an improvement upon last week's 9-0 shutout against Navy because the Diplomats are traditionally considered a more competitive team. And the Crimson triumph is an improvement upon last year's F&M match, which Harvard won, 7-2.

Improvement is the key word, and Harvard men's squash has seized upon it. It only remains to be seen whether the shutout streak will continue.

"We know we've improved since practice," said Piltch cautiously. "I think we've shown that we have a chance to do well."

THE NOTEBOOK: The Crimson will be playing at Trinity Wednesday and at Cornell Saturday.

Crimson, 9-0 at Hemenway Gym

1. Mark Baker (HARVARD) d. Tim Long (F&M), 15-8, 15-4, 15-4; 2. Jonny Kaye (HARVARD) d. Rick Fisher (F&M), 15-11, 15-4, 15-7; 3. Farokh Pandole (HARVARD) d. Steve Hopkins, 10-15, 15-10, 17-16, 15-8; 4. Jim Masland (HARVARD) d. Dave Rosen (F&M), 15-10, 15-8, 15-6; 5. Marty Clark (HARVARD) d. Al Aspen (F&M), 15-4, 15-9, 15-5; 6. Jeremy Fraiberg (HARVARD) d. Maurice Genser (F&M), 15-5, 18-17, 15-3; 7. Josh Horwitz (HARVARD) d. Dudley Nostrond (F&M), 15-6, 15-8, 15-6; 8. Paul Gardi (HARVARD) d. Bill Marvin (F&M), 12-15, 18-17, 15-12, 15-11; 9. Seth Handy (HARVARD) d. Prashant Tibrawalla (F&M), 4-15, 15-11, 15-9, 15-6.