If only Harvard could top Northeastern, peace and contentment might reign within the spirit of coach Bill McCurdy. But a dual meet win over the Huskies was not in the cards for the 1978-79 winter season as Harvard dropped its first meet of the year to the Huntington Ave. speedsters, 80-56.
The meet was a tale of frustration, capped by the finish of a scintillating mile race in which Harvard's John Murphy fell just short at the tape, losing to All-American Bruce Bickford by 0.14 seconds despite his personal best time of 4:04.0.
Captain Geoff Stiles continued his superb season with a pole vault win and a second-place high jump finish. In January, Stiles set a new NEAAU record with a 16 ft. 6 3/4 in. vault.
Harvard's excellent two-mile squad of Adam Dixon, Chris Nicodemus, Thad McNulty and Ed Sheehan kept the Crimson pride alive with a win over Northeastern. But the entire squad will have a chance for revenge this weekend as the Huskies return with the rest of the area harriers for the Greater Boston Championships, slated for this weekend at the ITT.
You can bet there'll be fireworks across the river as the rivalry hits the banked oval.
Women's Hoop
After a sluggish start which ended in a 3-4 record before vacation, the Crimson women returned to the basketball court fresh from the rest, and the Harvard opposition shuddered as the team took a four-game blitzkrieg into exams, upping their results to a fine 7-4 mark.
The January competition was not up to the level of many of the teams Harvard will face in the months ahead, but the schedule gave the young team a chance to find itself before the Division I heavies return for the February showdowns.
With talented Wendy Carle finding herself after two seasons of intermittent glory, the Crimson attack is shaping up. Carle, the leading scorer and rebounder, has combined with freshman star Elaine Holpuch and always-cool captain Caryn Curry to spark the team to its decisive January wins.
But the true test of the squad's progress will come this month as Harvard faces four stiff tests before the Ivy championships in New Haven, Feb. 9-11.
Harvard, now ranked sixth in New England, faces No. 7 Dartmouth tonight at the IAB. But on the horizon is a crosstown showdown with No. 3 Boston University (Feb. 16 at B.U.), and the Division I tourney, March 2 and 3.