"The game is won and lost with finesse."

So said Harvard men's squash coach Dave Fish, after his squad came away with a tough 6-3 win over a hard-hitting Navy team yesterday at the Hemenway Gym.

Navy coach Bob Bayliss said this year's racquetmen played like a typical Harvard team. "They're versatile and very strong in the fundamentals, as Dave Fish coached teams always are," he said. "They did that they had to do."

Number two man John Stubbs led the Crimson racquetmen. Stubbs mixed his shots well to defeat All-American Jon Wall by scores of 17-15, 15-9, 15-11.

Stubbs echoed his coach's sentiments. "I varied the pace, and Wall just didn't have that many shots. It was hot on the court, which gives the ball more speed, and he kept hitting it hard, but I was able to handle the hard ones."

Harvard's George Bell, playing at number one, lost to Navy's other All-American, Jeff Carlson, in a tough match, 15-13, 15-9, 15-13.

"Carlson was a very hard hitter," Bell said. "That made it tough for me to mix in my short stuff, and he was varying his shots well," he added.

Chip Robie came back from a two games to nothing deficit to win, 3-2. Joe Somers, Geordie Lemmon, Rob Blake, and Clarke Bain, all posted 3-0 victories.

Number three player Robie started off poorly, but outlasted his opponent, Dave MacElsin, to win by scores of 12-15, 12-15, 15-10, 15-10, 15-6.

Lemmon, a freshmen on a team that has five first-year varsity players, notched a victory in his Crimson debut. He downed Navy's Kevin Hopkins, 15-12, 15-12, 15-10.

John Dinneen, the team's other freshman, dropped his inaugural outing to Midshipman Scott Billington in a hardfought match, 15-11, 15-13, 11-15, 15-12.

Happy to get a match under his belt, Dinneen looked ahead to his team's next match at Army next Saturday.

"I'll do better next time," he said.

1. Jeff Carlson (N) beat George Bell, 15-13, 15-9, 15-13.

2. John Stubbs (H) beat Jon Wall, 17-15, 15-9, 15-11.