Jack Barnaby was a happy man this Christmas with good reason. His pet project, the Varsity Squash Racquets Team, had just taken over the finals of the Invitation Intercollegiate Squash Tournament. Run by the University Club in New York, the tournament has in the past been an excellent crystal ball for gazing into coming intercollegiate competitions.

So when all the doings were over on December 23, Barnaby looked around and found himself the proud possessor of Decker Orr, who won the tournament, and Tom Sears, who was the runner-up. Thinking back over past seasons the mentor said he could not recall such a thing ever happening. Nor had there been a Crimson winner since the days of Germaine G. Glidden '36 who was national champion from '36 to '38.

Orr Heads Team

Orr is the team's hardest hitter and most improved player, according to Barnaby, who moved him up to number one on the team as the result of his showing in the tournament. This move drops Gaelen Felt, who lost to McKenna, Yale's leadoff man, into the second position, but leaves the third slot still occupied by Sears. Sears' performance in the Christmas vacation play was also little short of sensational as he did not drop a game until his finals match with Orr. His greatest triumph came when he whaled Princeton's Ridder 3-0 in the semi-final bracket.

With Williams coming to town this Saturday, Barnaby will have a strong team to send out. Tentatively a nine-man match, Orr, Felt, and Sears will occupy the first three spots, followed by Wally MacDonald, Tom Baker, Dudley Palmer, George Clay, and David Shepherd in that order, with the ninth place as yet in the air. Shepherd, playing number eight, is the first Freshman to crash the Varsity squash lineup.

When the team meets Yale on February 6, however, they will be up against stiffer opposition, and will go into the all-important contest minus the services of Captain Gaelen Felt, who graduates before the match. Barnaby contemplates no other loss, and a strong Harvard team should be fairly well matched against the strongest Yale team in some years.