Last year the MIT racquet-men were led by Steve Cross, a huge player whose fiery vocabulary and temper matched his fierce stroke. MIT and Cross didn't win very often, but at least the Engineers' captain kept the crowd entertained.

Without Cross, the Engineers quietly succumbed to Harvard yesterday in 27 straight games before a crowd of eight. Without stimulating competition or witty entertainment, the match offered little besides the Crimson's second victory of the season.

If you think points indicate the trends of the match. MIT won more than nine points in a game only twice. If you don't think points indicate the margin of victory, the Engineers proved you correct.

Sophomore Glenn Whitman and junior Andy Wiegand won top honors on the Crimson squad by holding their respective opponents to a total of 13 points in three games.

Number One

At number one. Peter Briggs showed tremendous improvement over last year and swept Bob Rodgers. 15-7, 15-7, 15-11. Briggs discovered Rodgers's weakness, shots to the deep right corner, in the opening game and won close to a dozen points there. When Rodgers overcompensated for his weakness. Briggs confused him with cross-court drops.

Rodgers controlled the T through much of the match but did not have the finesse to put Briggs away. Briggs used several varieties of lobs to move Rodgers back and dominated the match with his array of finishing shots.

At three, Dan Gordon had trouble getting in and out of the sunken Hemenway Courts, but MIT's Phil Nanavati had much more difficulty on the court and lost. 15-9, 15-7, 15-9. Gordon's serve game Nanavati a great deal of trouble, and the Engineer laughed throughout the match. "Just great." Nanavati said to Gordon at the end of the third game, and he wasn't talking about the weather.

At six, senior Lowell Pratt easily demolished Dave Porush. 15-9, 15-4, 15-2. Porush had no control over where his shots went except off the wood and into the tin.

Neil Vosters, playing at seven, won easily. 15-7, 15-8, 15-4. MIT's Matt Kaufmann, at number eight, was one of the most successful Engineers. He played a defensive game, rarely aiming below the service line, and forced long points. But sophomore Archie Gwathmey outplayed Kaufmann's strategy, 15-5, 15-7, 15-5.

Rounding out the 9-0 score, seniors Alan Quasha (15-9, 15-5, 15-3) and Dave Fish (15-8, 15-4, 15-8), at four and two respectively, won the final two matches of the day.

Lance Hellinger, Fish's opponent, reported the final game score as eight, while Fish had told Crimson manager Jay Stack that it was six. "We'll give you eight." Stack, in a diplomatic move, told the MIT manager. MIT had already given enough away to Harvard.

Tomorrow the Crimson travels to Amherst to face the Lord Jeffs. Amherst has lost quite a few lettermen, including number one Mike Pelletier, from a team that lost to the Crimson, 8-1, last year.