Harvard racquetmen squashed Cornell, 8-1, in Hemenway Gym Sat., and number one player Anil Nayar wasn't even on hand to play.

Nayar was in Cedarhurst, Long Island, playing in the Gold Racquet Invitational Squash Tournament.

But Captain Rick Sterne filled in for Nayar at number one and led the Crimson's expected romp with a 3-0 win over Cornell's Bill St. John. Out of 30 games played, the Big Red racqueters managed to win only four.

An appreciative crowd of 75 watched the steady left-handed captain dispose of his opponent. Sterne won the first game easily, 15-8. The second was a barnburner.

Leading 13-12, Sterne got caught between the front wall and a hard shot from St. John's racquet. The ball struck him in the left thigh, tying the score and forcing a first-to-five set to decide the game.

Sterne was limping slightly, but he won five straight points and the game despite a second mishap. He shattered his racquet on the back wall in hitting the winning point. Armed with a new weapon, he went on to win the third game, 15-12.

Easy Wins

In the number two and three matches, both Harvard players breezed past their opponents. Sophomore Larry Terrell used his longer reach to defeat Cornell's short captain, Bruce Mesches, 15-8, 15-3, 15-4. Husky Jose Gonzalez, showing unexpected agility for his size, ran Mark Taylor all over the court enroute to beating him 15-5, 15-9, 15-5.

But it was the number four match which provided the day's thrills. It was the only match a Cornell player won.

Harvard's John Whitbeck and Cornell's Jim Levin took turns throwing racquets and taking spills. And amidst their anguished "oh's," "golly's," and "aw come on's" and bursts of applause from the spectators, Levin overcame Whitbeck's brilliant comeback effort and won.

Comeback

Whitbeck had come back from 0-1 and 1-2 deficits to tie the match at 2-all. In the third game he had surged from 4-13 to 12-14 before losing.

In the deciding fifth game, Levin had built up an 11-5 lead. Whitbeck battled back with four straight points. Just as it looked like he might tie it up, a mishap occurred, similar to the one which happened to Sterne. He got hit, and lost.

The remaining five Harvard players all won easily. Michel Scheinmann, Fritz Hobbs, Bruce Wiegand, and Fernando Gonzalez each posted 3-0 victories. Peter Abrams won by a 3-1 margin.

Strong showings by Bill Shrout and Bill Murphy led the Harvard swimming team to a crushing 73-40 victory over Springfield on Saturday in the Indoor Athletic Building.