The Harvard women's squash team opened its season with a hard-fought victory over Trinity Saturday afternoon at Hartford, Conn.

The outcome of the contest way in doubt until the last match of the day, where Harvard pulled out a narrow 4-3 victory.

The Crimson had to depend on strong performances from the bottom half of the ladder to defeat a strong Trinity squad that Harvard Coach Priscilla Choate described as having "tremendous depth."

The Crimson co-captains, playing at numbers one and two, both lost tough matches. Senior Mary Hulbert, playing number one, fell 3-0, while number two Laura Kaye, coming back from a shoulder injury, also came out on the short end of a 3-0 score.

After junior Marty Winnick, freshman Diana Edge and junior Kate Dunham all won their matches rather handily and Yardling Lucy Miller lost 3-1, the contest was knotted at three matches a piece.

The deciding match was to be played by Diana Staley against a former Choate teammate.

Staley, playing at number three, came through with a 3-1 victory, leading the Crimson to a 4-3 win. the senior also had to overcome the distraction of the perenially noisy Trinity fans.

"The crowd was really annoying but we expected them to be loud and we were prepared for it," Staley said.

The Crimson played without the services of sophomore Ingrid Boyum, who normally holds down the number two spot. Out with a back injury, Boyum probably will not return until after winter break.

The Crimson next faces Brown on Tuesday, hoping to build up one momentum going into the Princeton Invitational Tournament over the weekend.