Rants have a reputation for butting in, according to a joke that circulated in the second grade in 1968, and evidently the URI Rants are in the habit of preserving it.

Yesterday's golf match was supposed to have been a three-way affair between Harvard, Holy Cross, and Williams. When the Crimson beat both of these teams, it should have won overall. However, URI made a surprise appearance at the Pleasant Valley course, turned the match into a four-way battle, and went away with the honors.

However, Harvard's second-place finish was definitely not a disappointment from the Crimson point of view. "URI's probably the best team in New England," co-captain Glenn Alexander said, pointing out that "they edged us by just a little."

Harvard trailed URI by just four strokes, totalling 405 over 18 holes. The Crimson squeaked past Williams, who finished with 406, and it was apparently a wet crusade for Holy Cross, who turned in 414 for the day.

Coach Dick Croshy called URI's arrival "unexpected," but said he was very pleased with his team's performance. "They handled the course pretty well, and we didn't have a lot of high scores," he noted.

Sophomore Jon Mosle was the Crimson low man and co-medalist of the match, shooting a 77 on the par-72 course. URI's Pat Horgan and Crusader Bob Sherry turned in identical scores to split the honors three ways.

The team's performance heightened expectations for the outcome of the Ivy League Championships scheduled for this weekend. Matching Princeton, the perennial threat, looks a little more realistic after the close run to URI. "If we play well, we have a really good chance." Alexander predicts.

Crosby expects the team to take at least second or third, but said, "We always have a chance--if we get any breaks, we could win it." He called Yale an additional obstacle to a Crimson triumph.