Yale squash coach John Skillman won a few beers Saturday when his pick, Harvard, crushed Penn, 8-1, and the Eli coach may need a couple of stiff drinks after this afternoon's Ivy clash in New Haven with the Crimson.

In 16 years Harvard has lost only four league matches, and the Crimson is not likely to lose its fifth today. A victory against Yale would assure Harvard its third consecutive undefeated season, its third consecutive Ivy League title, and its fifth consecutive intercollegiate team title.

Against that momentum Skillman must pit a team that has lost to Penn, Princeton, and Amherst: has lost its number two player, and has four starting freshmen. "We may telegraph our games rather than face Harvard," Skillman quipped.

Actually it has been a very successful, 10-3, season for the young Bulldogs. The Elis can claim victories away from home at Army and Williams, and the squad will finish with its best record in four years.

Yale's number one, Graham Arader, is one of the top players in the East. Although he does not rank with Penn's Palmer Page or Harvard's Peter Briggs, Arader was All-Ivy last year and advanced to the quarterfinals of the intercollegiates. This winter Arader is 10-2 as a junior, and he may become a topranking player next year.

More Bulldogs

Behind Arader the Bulldogs have two lettermen, seniors Charles Berry, younger brother of Penn's Eliot Berry, and Rick Kirkpatrick. Bob Stevens, who returned to Yale last year after a stint in the Armed Forces, has left school.

The second half of the Yale ladder is founded upon four freshmen: Seth Walwroth, Frank Dupont, Steve Sherrill and Diderik Finne. Two sophomores complete the young team.

Yale has not beaten Harvard since 1961 and, despite the improvement, the Bulldogs have little chance of improving on their perennial fourth-place, 2-3, finish in the Ivy League.

Today's contest is the final collegiate match for Harvard before the intercollegiate championships at West Point on Friday.