Even the ever-optimistic McLaughlin has expressed doubt about how well Harvard can do without a dominant big man. Dave Coatsworth has done an admirable job in the middle, but he's a freshman and not a very tall one at that. He can't control the tempo.
Control is precisely the element Harvard has missed all season. The team can't play a zone defense, and they've accepted the role as a perimeter offensive team. But their shooters haven't done the job from outside, and miserable freethrow shooting has proved costly.
Rhodes Scholar co-captain Glenn Fine can quarterback the team; co-captain Bob Hooft has done well up front, though his shooting has fallen into inconsistency lately. With a Cornell-Columbia double bill this weekend, the Crimson guns will have to come out screaming if Harvard is to avoid falling into oblivion.
Women's Swim
You have to feel sorry for Crimson coach Stephanie Walsh and what remains of her dejected women's swimming team. Their season to date has been a tortuous experiencing of unattainable goals.
When the season began, the Harvard team looked stronger than ever. Newcomer Pam Stone was a sure bet to fill the longtime diving void. Maura Costin was healthy, Jane Fayer was psyched. Freshman Adele Joel provided the much-needed breaststroke strength. But glory was just a dream.
Fayer separated a shoulder and now sits idly awaiting an operation. Versatile Laurie Downey gave up swimming for a thesis, and freestylers Sherri Lubbers and Liz Kelly also elected not to swim. So the aquawomen faced a tough schedule with only a shadow of the team they had expected to carry.
As coach Walsh said, "With what we've got we're doing well." But what's she's got is young, undeveloped talent lacking the backbone of veteran skill. Joel, Stone and Costin have been strong; but at 1-6, this season looks grim.
As Walsh says, "At least recruiting is going very well."
Wrestling
The grapplers ended the January stretch with a fine performance in a quadrangular meet, beating Lowell and MIT while narrowly losing to a powerful Coast Guard squad.
With a respectable 3-4 record coming into the second half of the winter schedule, the Crimson matmen have reason for optimism, especially after the early-season heroics of freshman sensation Paul Wiederman.
The rookie from Long Island has posted a perfect 7-0 mark this year in the 118-pound class. Sophomore Rick Kief also started on a winning streak grabbing three wins in the quadrangular marathon.
Undefeated Bill Mulvihill (4-0 at 134 pounds), and heavyweight Craig Beling, 5-2 in his division, anchor the veteran end of the Harvard squad which faces a difficult start this weekend with a double against Penn and Princeton.
Women's Track
On the strength of some fine distance performances, the women's track team finished with a bang before exams, destroying Bates 73-27 to even the team's record at 1-1.
Taking first in all but three events, the women showed some strength after a miserable 70-35 loss to New Hampshire in December. With the Greater Boston Championships coming to the ITT this weekend, Pappy Hunt's runners will return to the track against some of the toughest competition of the season.
Junior Kat Taylor in the two-mile and captain Sarah Linsley in the 880 join miler Karla Amble and hurdler Sue Harper at the heart of the running strength.