The Crimson squad still managed a fine record. They performed admirably in a 5-2 loss to Princeton at Jadwin, but fell by the same score to an uninspired Yale team in the more comfortable confines of Hemenway Gym later that week.

Many holdovers on the young (nobody lost to graduation) squad are thrilled by Barnaby's arrival. "It came as a big surprise. His experience and savvy are unmatched. I'm looking forward to learning the thinking game," Eleanor Cunningham, one of the squad's most consistent performers last season, said yesterday.

But Princeton, which continually recruits aggressively to secure top talent, has a far superior team.

"I understand there is a big gap. It is always a slow, upward ramp. We'll have a lot of work on technique," Barnaby cautions. But he is quick to insist that he's looking to win--soon. "I hate that phrase 'building years,'" Barnaby says, condemning two words heard often on the Harvard sports scene of late.

* * *

Harvard sports lore is full of stories about Barnaby, or "The Master," as the squash cognoscenti often say. Like the time he rebuilt the post-war squad in one year, leading them to a championship the next. Or his dramatic finale as squash coach, when his Crimson racquetmen toppled heavily-favored Princeton, 6-3, to cop yet another national title.

Or, his "other sport"--tennis. His record: 369-155. Barnaby lets his teams speak for themselves. He bowed out by leading his tennis squad to a share of the Ivy League title.

Now Jack is back, though his legend and legacy never left. "Harvard has been struggling in a lot of sports," he says. "But we had an old saying about Cambridge: 'Atmosphere of excellence.' And while that shouldn't be taken too seriously, I'd like to aim for it."

And that is welcome news for any Harvard sports fan.