A BRIEF HISTORY OF HARVARD SPORTS

The 1993-94 sports year was like one big trip to the dentists' office.

You knew it was coming; you dreaded it; it was sometimes painful, but not as painful as you thought; and afterwards, you felt like a million bucks, like you could walk right out into the rest of the world, blow in anybody's face and not feel insecure about bad breath.

Yes, it was a cleansing year.

The consummate example of this general cleansing was the hiring of Tim Murphy as head football coach.

While the Joe Restic regime should never be confused with tooth decay, its time had clearly passed. Restic's multiflex--once bold, exciting and dashing--had become outlandlish and revealing, like a bold tie a middle-aged man might wear to compensate fora retreating hairline. It was unreal, as were his staid sermons on the importance of education and values. Theyw were true, wonderful messages, but they didn't excite us: they were too Harvard.

We wanted some guts. He wanted some power. We wanted some drive. And we wanted an offensive line that doesn't clean the dirt out of its fingernails.

Enter Tim Murphy.

While Murphy's hiring was certainly central, it was by no means the only big event in Harvard sports this year. All across the school's playing fields, new, fresh faces were taking over. Women's cross country. Men's soccer. Women's ice hockey. Men's swimming. Women's golf. Men's track. In all these sports, and many more, major transformations occured setting the stage for future successes.

Of course, like the trip to the dentist's office and the bedheads of all those football players at morning practices this spring, it wasn't always pretty.

But that's all a part of it, isn't it? Victory, defeat. Comedy, tragedy. Life, death. Cavities, no cavities. It's all part of the fun, and all part of our list of the 10 defining moments in the 1993-94 Harvard sports season.

Because while a visit to the dentist can be a gateway to new vistas, it wouldn't be if it weren't such a pain in the ass.

Mint-flavored dental floss, anyone?

1. THE GAME--NOV. 20, 1993

The Game is a given for the list, right? Maybe.

But this year's contest was special--particularly for history buffs. First, it was the last game in Restic's 23-year career--the end of a long, successful era in Harvard football. And second, it was the 25th anniversary of the 1968 Game, perhaps the greatest game in Harvard history.

The latter fact is significant only because this year's battle was almost reminiscent of that mighty battle a quarter of a century ago. Almost.

In the 1968 game, the Crimson scored two touchdowns and added two two-point conversions late in the fourth quarter to tie the Bulldogs, 29-29.

In this year's, contest, Harvard similarly found itself down late in the game, and then mounted a ferocious comeback--only this time it lost.

Trailing by 16 points with six minutes left, the team scored two dramatic late-game touchdowns to make the game close, but a failure to convert on the two point conversion after the first of those touchdowns spelled out its doom, 33-31.

It was a typical game for the Crimson--one of unrewarded hard work and lousy defense, but even more, it was just plain exciting.

"It was a little cracy, but that's what you've got to expect," Restic said afterwards. "After all, it was The Game."

2. THE HIRING DEC. 6, 1993

To an audience of about 150 gathered at the press conference announcing his hiring as Harvard's football coach, a congenial Tim Murphy articulated his plans for the future of Harvard football.

"I favor a simple, pro-style offense," he said. "This Dallas Cowboys have an offense like ours. Or maybe that should be the other way around."

It was a good joke, eliciting a chuckle from the audience. But even more, it was telling of the changes underway in Harvard's football program.

First, it showd a striking difference between Murphy's coaching philosophy and Restic's; Restic favored a complicated multi-flex offense, while Murphy favors a simpler, more up-front approach.

And second, it was a clear departure from the style of the old coach. Gone were the sometimes pedantic sermons of the aging Restic, and in were the Leno-like one-liners of a young, vibrant coach on the rise.

Murphy, 37, had been named to the coaching position after engineering a near-miraculous turnaround at the University of Cincinnati, turning a 1-9-1 program into an 8-3 team in five years.

His initial reception at Harvard was warm, to say the least.

"[Murphy's] goal is to win the league in three years," sophomore David Sprinkle said. "But I don't see why we can't do it this year."

3. THE UPSET--JAN. 2, 1994

On a day when most Harvard Students were recovering from hangovers suffered two nights before, Harvard's men's swimming team accomplished something beyond its wildest New Year's resolutions.

On a trip to Florida designed to work out any post-vacation kinks, the previously unranked squad upset foruth ranked Florida in Gainesville, 126-117.

The upset win, a great performance considering that it came after a two-week hiatus, was one of the biggest in the country this season, and certainly one of the biggest in Harvard swimming history.

Even more important, it significantly enlarged the program's view of itself and its capabilities, shifting its focus form the region to the nation.

"Our whole standards changed all of a sudden," senior Richard Ou said. "We realized that we can compete on a national level, that we can perform with the top teams in the country. To do that consistently will be the team's goal over the next few years."

4. THE BEANPOT--FEB. 7, 1994

The Beanport '94 will be remembered for its irony.

Harvard went into the annual tourney expected to finish second, and it finished second.

What was odd, however, was how it achieved that placing.

In the first round, it took on BU, and won with a brilliant defensive effort, 4-2.

Expected to pounce all over Boston College in the championship game a week later, however, the team was itself upset. The Eagles put forth their most spirited effort of the season and picked up a 2-1 overtime win.

It was an important loss not only because it was the Beanpot, but also because it taught the team a hard but valuable lesson about the danger of underdogs, which it would later put to good use in dismantling a bevy of ECAC challengers.

"[It was] a heartbreaker," Harvard Coach Ronn Tomassoni said, eyes gazing into space. "I'm still as proud of this team as I was last Monday night, and I know we'll bounce back--we've got a hell of a hockey team."

5. THE VICTORY IN DEFFAT--FEB. 19, 1994

The Harvard men's basketball team's home loss to Penn was maybe the greatest loss in Crimson basketball history.

The Quakers came into the game ranked 24th in the country with an undefeated record. The Crimson, on the other hand, came into the contest with an 8-13 record and the painful memory of a 92-76 loss at Penn on January 7.

What happened when the two teams met was nothing short of amazing. Paced by senior captain Tarik Campbell and a host of youngsters, including sophomore Darrin Rankin and freshman Kyle Snowden, the Crimson not only stayed close to the Quakers but led through much of the game.

In the end, however, Penn battled back to garner a 66-65 win, but it would be the team's biggest scare all regular season. Penn went on to become the first Ivy League team in 10 years to make it to the second rund of the NCAA tournament.

"I wouldn't say that it was a highlight of the year because we lost," senior Anikar Chhabra says. "We're never satisfied with losing."

6. THE CHAMPIONSHIPS--FEB. 23, 1994

There are some things at Harvard we take for granted.

High SAT scores. Old buildings. And phemomenal squash teams.

Once again, both the men's and the women's team took home at regular season national championships.

The men's team captured its fourth title in a row with one of the most dramatic wins in American collegiate squash history. Down 4-1 in a best-of-nine match with the Bulldogs, the team stormed back to win 5-4 on a breathtaking sudden death win by sophomore Talben-Shachar.

The women's 7-2 win over Yale was less dramatic, but no less impressive. The team had won the championship the year before when hardballs were used, and this season, it made the difficult transition to softer balls flawlessly.

"This was the most rewarding team season I've been apart of," senior women's player Jordanna Fraiberg said.

Commented senior men's player Adrian Erza: "This season was incredible, simply incredible."

7. THE CHAMPION---MARCH 18, 1994

As a sport, fencing suffers from a general lack of respect. To the average student, it seems slightly antiquated, strange and more than a little bit crazy--who would spend free time getting poked with along, pointy weapon?

This spring, though, junior Kwame van Leeuwen proved that there is more than a little nobility left in the sport. In an astounding feat of personal athleticism, van Leeuwen took first place in the grueling NCAA championship foil competition in March, becoming the third and final Harvard student this year--along with squash players Ezra and Fraiberg--to bring home an individual national championship.

To get to the finals, van Leeuwen had to go through three long rounds of play, in which he amassed a spotless 13-0 record. Then, with the field reduced to eight in single-elimination play, he squeaked past his first opponent, 15-11, destroyed his second foe, 15-2 and then dismantled the meet's top seed, andy Gerhardt of Penn State, for the championship.

"It feels great," van Leeuwen said after the contest. "I'm absolutely exhausted, but it feels great."

8. THE LOSS--MARCH 31, 1994.

Oh, oh, so close.

After blasting through its competition in the ECAC tournament and then destroying New Hampshire in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 7-1, Harvard's men's hockey team advanced to the semi-finals against Lake Superior State.

The Lakers looked to be little threat to the 24-4-4 Crimson. They had been the fourth seed on Harvard's side of the bracket, and, despite a 5-4 overtime win over number-one seed Michigan, appeared to be very beatable.

But it was not to be. In what would later be termed "a game for the ages," the two teams traded shots in regulation play, forcing overtime. but only four minutes into that extra session, the inconceivable occured; Lake Superior State's Clayton Beddoes capitalized on an uncustomary Crimson defensive breakdown and scored on a breakway, giving the Lakers the 2-1 win and eliminating the Crimson.

For Lake Superior State, the win meant a chance to play BU in the championship game, which it won, 9-1.

For Harvard, it meant the end of a great season, and speculation as to how the Crimson would have done if given the opportunity to play its cross-town rival, whom it had beaten earlier in the season, for the national championship.

"I'm jsut very proud of our guys," Tomassoni said.

9. THE WAKE-UP CALL--APRIL 4, 1994

It was ten days that shook the Ivy League football world.

This season, the coaches of the Ivy League decided to terminate a decades-long rule against conducting spring practices, and players on teams all across the Ancient Eight began rising at early hours to hit the playing field.

The move was significant in that its signaled the triumph of a new breed of coaches and athletic administrators in the league, less inclined to bend to tradition and more inclined to bend the league to conform with other, more competitive leagues across the country.

At Harvard, the practices fit in perfectly with the new football regime. It gave the team some valuable time to learn the system and develop in real-game situations. The team had 10 practice sessions over two weeks, each starting at 6:30 in the morning.

"They will help out a lot," outgoing captain Brian Ramer said. "It shows a new attitude in the league, and it will probably mean more competitive football."

10. THE END--MAY 7-8, 1994

Going into the outdoor Heptagonals in May, the Harvard women's and men's track teams had been headed in opposite directions.

The women had been increasingly dominating. After an initial rocky start during its indoor season, the team battled back to take first in the hallowed H-Y-P meet, and second at the winder Heptagonals. It had improved further at the start of the outdoor season, beating defending league champ Brown in a triangular. Going into the outdoor Heptagonals, it was set on taking first.

The men, on the other hand, were having a rough season. Plagued by injuries, the team had struggled through the indoor season, finishing third at the H-Y-P meet and a disappointing sixth at Heptagonals. It had further struggled in the outdoor season, finishing a distant third to Brown and Dartmouth in a triangular. Going in to the spring Heptagonals, it had no idea where it would finish.

But something very strange happened at the meet. The women, plagued by a number of odd injuries, had their worst finish of the year, coming in seventh of nine teams. The men, on the other hand, shocked even themselves in taking fourth, their best overall performance.

The meet--the biggest of the season for both games--was a testament to the odd twists and turns in sports during the 1993-94 year. Both were young teams, both were going through "cleansing" phases. But they had radically different experiences, radically different fates.

"It was odd the way both teams seemed to do different things at different points in the year," men's captain Pete McConnon says. "But, speaking from a senior's perspective, I think that there is at least one way.