"It was like kissing your sister, beating one and losing to the other," said coach Bill McCurdy yesterday afternoon after his harriers split a double-dual meet with Providence and UMass. "But, a pretty good-looking sister at that," he added.

McCurdy summed up the fall afternoon's action quite aptly. The men's cross country team ran a solid race over Franklin Park's 10,000-meter course, outclassing a strong UMass squad 24-31, but succumbing to the awesome Friars, 23-33.

Setting a new course record of 29:08, a pair of strong Providence runners tied for first-place honors. Dan Dillon, a 13th-place finisher in last year's nationals and the winner of the U.S. international trials last spring, and freshman teammate Ray Treacy stayed neck and neck ahead of the field throughout the race.

If the name Treacy rings a bell it's because his younger brother, John, starred for Providence before graduating last year. Figure that one out.

Leading the herd, senior Ed Sheehan crossed the tape in fifth place at 29:39. And Peter Fitzsimmons is back. Fitzie, rebounding from leg injuries, came home a close seventh, bettering his time from Saturday's meet by a full minute.

A slew of Crimson runners followed soon after to round out the Harvard scoring. Mark Meyer, John Murphy, and Reed Eichner took the ninth, tenth, and eleventh spots, respectively.

Once the gun sounded at the outset of the race, Dillon and Treacy wasted little time in establishing their position. The duo set a fast pace with a two-mile split of 9:15 and were never seriously challenged.

Most of the Harvard thinclads bunched early and stayed clumped together behind the leaders most of the course. The pack ran together up to the four-mile mark, not spreading out until the final leg. Fitzsimmons and Sheehan moved ahead of the other Crimson competitors, while Thad McNulty, who had led the Harvard contingent at one point, dropped back.

"It was ideal team running," Fitzsimmons said afterward. "The Providence team just got too far ahead of us."

Improving considerably on his last performance, Fitzsimmons joined fellow seniors Sheehan and Meyer as Harvard's main scoring punch. "Last meet I went out too slow and it cost me," Fitzie said. "This time I stayed with the pack and it helped a lot."

Following the big win over crosstown rival Northeastern this past weekend most of the team felt "flat," according to captain Meyer.

"Things really went our way against Northeastern," McCurdy said, "but I'm really pleased about how well the team reacted under fire today."

The team now boasts a 2-1 record and has tucked two of the toughest encounters of the season under their belts. On Friday, the squad travels to New York where it will take on Columbia and Penn at the notoriously treacherous Van Cortlandt Park course.

Top Twenty Finishers

1. tie -- Dillon (P), Treacy (P) 29:08; 3. Quinn (P) 29:12 4. Quinn (M) 29:14 5. Sheehan (H) 29:39 6. Martin (M) 29:44 7. Fitzsimmons (H) 29:45 8. Hartnett (P) 29:46 9. Meyer (H) 30:00 10. Murphy (H) 30:05 11. Eichner (H) 30:09 12. Pamaccione (M) 30:17 13. Wolff (M) 30:32 14. Descamps (M) 30:34 15. Morris (M) 30:38 16. Moulton (H) 30:39 17. Ball (P) 31:07 18. Lehan (P) 31:08 19. Hillyard (M) 31:25 20. McNulty (H) 31:28