Practice started for a gaggle of winter sports squads Thursday, with the men's and women's basketball squads splitting the afternoon at the IAB. Twenty-six hopefuls--including ten freshmen--showed up at the men's tryouts, with a few notable changes from last year's 16-10 squad. LAMARR FLATT--who saw lots of action his freshman year in the 1979-80 season, but who spent last year away from the hardcourt--is back. Senior DAVE KOHN opted not to try out this season, but he was up on the fourth floor anyway, in the unfamiliar garb of a member of the coaching staff. Kohn will help newly hired assistant coach JOE ROGERS with the junior varsity squad. Rogers--who graduated from Boston College last May--joined the 60 Boylston crowd last week, signing on as director of sports promotions in addition to the hoop job. He said he sees his primary responsibility as helping on the floor with the varsity, plus coaching the j.v. and helping with recruiting. RICK DUCKETT--who guided the j.v. last year--will be working exclusively with the varsity this year, along with head coach FRANK MCLAUGHLIN. McLaughlin will make cuts this weekend.... Whomever he decides to keep should have a pretty good shot at the Ivy League title, at least according to Streit and Smiths. Frank Brady of the Philadelphia Bulletin picked the Crimson to upset Penn and Princeton to grab the laurels in this year's race. "I think that's the first time ever," said McLaughlin....

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Women's coach CAROLE KLEINFELDER doesn't have to worry about early season jinxes, because nobody's picking her squad to finish first in the Ivies, especially with the decision of high-scorers ELAINE HOLPUCH and NANCY BOUTILLIER to take a year off. In fact, Thursday's crop of candidates included just two seniors--DENISE WILLIAMSON and KAREN UEDA--but eight freshmen. "We're going to have to depend heavily on freshmen," Kleinfelder said.

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Harvard sports fans recognized STEPHANIE WALSH, former women's swim coach, who dropped by to watch the women's soccer team maul B.U., 9-0, October 12. Walsh now sells insurance in Boston for Equitable Life and received "Agent of the Month" honors for September. Says Walsh, who jogs and swims, "I'm happy, but busy...."

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In the fund-raising corner we have the women's soccer team and the men's lacrosse team, both of which are doing disparate activities to line their coffers. On October 13, the soccer team arranged for local women's clubs to take tours of the Master's Lodgings in Lowell, Kirkland, Winthrop and Eliot Houses, as well as of the House libraries and other attractions. Approximately 50 women showed up and paid $10 apiece for the tours, which the soccer team split five ways with the participating House Committees. Although the tours netted just about $100 for the soccer team--a mere pittance considering the exorbitant cost of flying sixteen members of the team to Colorado last spring when they made it into the finals of the National tournament--co-captain DANA WARREN remarked that "every little bit helps. Besides," she added, "we learned about a lot of amazing paintings that are all over the place that no one ever looks at...." Instead of working out on Sunday, October 11, the men's lacrosse team worked at the Oktoberfest in Harvard Square setting up tables, moving kegs of beer, providing security and crowd control, and doing other gentlemanly duties. Anheuser-Busch gave the team $200 dollars at the end of the nine-hour day which will go towards funding their spring trip, as well as a promise to supply the beer at the team party at the end of the year. Besides sore muscles, the thirty team members who participated received free sweatshirts, hats, food, and beer for their arduous labors....

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Joining the sea of 6000 women in the Bonne Bell 10 Kilometer road race on Columbus Day were members of the Harvard women's swim team and the Princeton women's swim team. Finishing with stellar times for the Crimson were sophomore CINDY PHILLIPS (45 minutes), and assistant swim coach PATTI CASHMAN (47 minutes). Also finishing under 50 minutes were aquawomen VICKI GORMAN, DEBBIE ZIMIC, JEANNE FLOYD, SHELBY CALVERT, CARY MAZZONE, and co-captain PAM STONE. Coach VICKI HAYS laughingly just said "I finished." The Princeton women--who ran a seven-miler the previous week for training--did well, but lost their captain, CHARLOTTE TIEDEMANN, during the race with an injury....