The match that the Harvard men's squash team had been priming for went easier than expected.

The match that followed, however, nearly ended the team's 65-game winning streak.

In a pair of matches at Hemenway Gym, Harvard recorded an exciting 6-3 victory over Princeton Saturday in front of 500 spectators, and was nearly steamrolled by a sharp Franklin & Marshall squad yesterday before pulling out a 5-4 triumph before 250 fans.

The Diplomats were within one point of knocking out Harvard during the last match. Seth Handy fell behind Richard Fisher, 4-3, in a fourth game tie-breaker before pulling out an 18-17 win. Handy captured the last game, 15-12, to ensure the Crimson triumph.

"It was scary," Handy said. "Very scary."

The Diplomats had an advantage before the match even started. Co-Captain Russ Ball, who suffered an injury in his match against Princeton's Keen Butcher on Saturday, sat out the match against the Diplomats.

This forced everyone from numbers three to nine to move up a spot.

Jim Masland continued his dazzling play, whipping Nat Otis in three straight, 15-4, 15-11, 15-9, while James Gilfillan did the same to his opponent.

Co-Captain Jack Polsky continued to play as though he had never been injured. The senior dominated every facet of the game, recording a 15-4, 15-11, 15-9 victory.

Jack Colbourne, playing at number two instead of his normal three position, played a gutsy match against Tim Long.

After dropping two of the first first three games, Colbourne rallied to captured the fourth game, 18-17. However, Long captured a tough 18-16 victory in the fifth game.

After Paul Gardi's loss, the Crimson found itself down 4-2 in the overall score with two matches left on court. Darius Pandole, who is also nursing an injury, cruised to a 15-9, 15-4, 15-6 victory over Aashish Kamat.

"Basically, we nixed them," Masland said. "It was like a gun fight and we brought a cannon [Handy]."

"It was exciting," Handy said of his match. "I figured the match was tied at 4-4 when I saw all of those people watching."

It was supposed to be the year of the Tiger. It was supposed to be the year that Princeton dethroned Harvard as national champions.

There was only one problem--no one told the Harvard men's squash team.

The last time Harvard lost was February 6, 1982, a 2 p.m. match at Hemenway Gym. This year, the match was on February 6, at 2 p.m. and at Hemenway Gym.

There, however, is where the coincidences ended.

Polsky was the first one to finish his match, capturing a 15-11, 15-8, 15-10 victory over Bob White. The co-captain missed all of last year and the first three months of this season with nagging injuries.

Jon Bernheimer was involved in the biggest match of the day. After whipping Roy Rubin 15-10, 15-12 in the first two games, Rubin began to play over his head--as he fought back to win the next two games.

With the match tied at 2-2, Bernheimer and Rubin battled to a 14-14 tie in the fifth game. Rubin scored a cross corner shot to take a one point lead and on point away from winning the match.

But the poised sophomore recorded two straight corner shots to capture the fifth game and match. Bernheimer's win tied the match at 2-2, instead of a 3-1 deficit.

"I played all right," Bernheimer said. "I let up in the third game. I was pretty shaky during the third and fourth games."

"There was a time when it looked bleaked," Harvard Coach Dave Fish said.