For Currier, A Dry Spell and then Victory

Currier House residents exercised their house spirit on Monday night as they cheered in celebration of their hard- fought victory of the Straus Cup, a feat not accomplished for 23 years.

Currier was announced champion of the Straus Cup—which is awarded each spring to the house which has garnered the most points in intramural (IM) competitions throughout the year—at the Harvard House Intramural Lunch in the Murr Center Hall of History on Monday.

Currier House Committee Chair Jonathan C. Bardin ’06 said that Currier residents will be celebrating by drinking out of the Straus cup, and that they held large parties in anticipation of the award last week.

Bardin, who is also a Crimson editor, attributed Currier’s success to the “incredible amount of House spirit,” and the dedication of its Intramural (IM) secretaries Daniel D. Almog ’05 and Brooks B. Lambert-Sluder ’05, who devoted forty-hour weeks to overseeing the House’s participation in IM sports.

Fostering house spirit under the motto “We must protect this house,” (a slogan taken from an “Under Armour” commercial), Almog and Lambert-Slunder led the house in the heated competition against Dunster this spring, whom Currier bested with a 59-point margin.

In previous years, the winner of the Straus Cup has shown a clear lead by early in the spring, but this year’s competition continued until the last day, Bardin said.

Andrew M. Mugica ’06, who played in the softball championship against Dunster that determined the winner of the cup, said he and his teammates “knew the significance of the game,” and played it without any errors.

Also among the contributors to the Currier victory was Housemaster Joseph L. Badaracco Jr., who participated in the spring River Run and said that the Cup “put a nice glow on the whole end of the year.”

Students in Currier said that Almog and Lambert-Sludner’s enthusiasm had rejuvenated IMs for the house.

Almog and Lambert-Sludner, who are blockmates, said they volunteered to lead the house IMs after showing up at several games their sophomore year only to be disqualified because no one else from Currier had ventured to the fields.

Currier forfeited 50 games that year, Almog said. As IM reps, the two made it their mission to never forfeit, and they seized sixth place last year with three forfeits. This year, Currier had sufficient participation at every game, despite the fact that it is the smallest of the 12 Houses.

Deborah H.M. Pan ’07, who called herself “totally not athletic,” said she participated in three different IM sports because she “really wanted Currier to win.”

IMs “became more than a few people playing sports,” said Kevin M. Weil ’05, who said he played in almost every sport except squash.

Some residents even won injuries for their efforts, Weil said, referring to a dodgeball practice in the fishbowl that resulted in black eyes and even a broken nose for one of the eager house participants.

Weil said that he and other members of Currier house were looking forward to drinking out of the Cup in celebration.

“I have a final tomorrow, but it’s still going to happen tonight,” he said.

—Staff Writer Victoria Kim can be reached at vkim@fas.harvard.edu.