A fired-up varsity cross country team will be battling against tremendous odds when it meets squads from Yale and Princeton today at Princeton. The vaunted Elis are unbeaten and the Crimson must face its most important opponent without the services of its ace, Jed Fitzgerald.

With an injured calf muscle on top of a previous leg ailment, Fitzgerald has been ordered not to compete this afternoon. His loss is a blow which only an all-out team effort can overcome.

After a desultory early-season performance, Fitzgerald came into his own in two fine races against Ernest Tracy of Penn and Tom Laris of Dartmouth. The entire squad was beginning to rally around his inspirational performances. So complete was his comeback that he would have been the favorite today.

In Fitzgerald's absence, the burden of leadership falls to sophomore Mark Mullin. Mullin has finished among the top three in all his races this fall, and coach Bill McCurdy believes he has yet to produce his best effort.

The Crimson's mental attitude is at the correct pitch for a meet of such importance. Fitzgerald's injury notwithstanding, the team has confidence in its ability.

Senior Ralph Perry has always risen to the occasion against Yale and Princeton, and should finish high today. Captain Eddie Martin seems ready to end the frustration of an injury-riddled year, and Don Kirkland, Jack Benjamin, and Wes Hildreth are in top condition.

Yale poses an impressive challenge, however. The Bulldogs' two front-runners, John Blake and the great Tommy Carroll, have both run better times than Mullin. These two have accounted for the undefeated Elis' victory margins most of the season, although John Morrison, Tom Cathcart, and Bill Cherryholmes have done well also.

The Kingston brothers, Pete and Bill, are the best Princeton has to offer; neither should figure very strongly in the meet.

In the freshman meet, the Yardlings will have to produce several unprecedented performances to challenge the strong Yale and Princeton squads. Furthermore, Crimson captain Ed Hamlin is suffering from a cold.

It would be easy for the varsity to set its sights on second place, because Princeton should be easy prey. But McCurdy and the team are aiming for the top, and only a victory over Yale can make the meet--and the season--a success.