Dartmouth has beaten Harvard in most sports this year. Its soccer, football and basketball teams have scored big wins against the Crimson.
But when it comes to squash, Harvard rules Dartmouth and other teams like a king rules his court. While some viewed its loss to Princeton as the end of a reign, the Crimson moved a step closer to it's seventh straight Ivy and national championships with a 7-2 victory against the Big Green yesterday.
Harvard improved its record to 8-1 overall, 2-1 Ivy, with one regularseason match left.
If it can defeat Yale (12-0, 3-0 Ivy) next Wednesday, the Crimson will create a three-way tie with Yale and Princeton for the regular-season national and Ivy championships.
Dartmouth proved to be a good tune-up match for the Elis. The Big Green kept intact its perfect record against the Crimson--a perfect 0-48.
"Today was a good showing of where we stand," sophomore George Polsky said. "We showed that we have the power of a wooly mammoth, the stamina of an okapi, the spring of a wallaby and the intensity of a mother guarding her cubs. In a nutshell, we're ready for Yale."
Harvard Co-Captain Doug Lifford started things off with a 15-2, 15-12, 15-6 victory over John Burke, who barely showed signs of life.
Playing in the number four slot, freshman Johnny Kaye had a tough match against John Critchey. In a see-saw battle, Kaye dropped the first game, 15-12, but stormed back to take the next two games by equal scores of 15-13.
After losing a close fourth game, Kaye rallied to take the game and match, 15-6.
"We had the best week of practice and it showed," Assistant Coach John Anz said.
Freshman Farokh Pandole destroyed Bryan Roberts, 15-12, 15-4, 15-11.
Sophomore Mike Foster, one of two junior varsity members who moved up for the match against Dartmouth, cruised past Jim Zug, 18-14, 15-8, 15-5, while teammate Polsky took out Doug Henry in three games.
Junior Jon Bernheimer pulled out a four-game victory against Rob Adams, 11-15, 18-16, 15-10, 15-11, while teammates Bobby Greenhill and Jon Masland both lost close matches at number nine and six, respectively.
Seth Handy, playing at number seven, recorded a five-game victory against James Bragg, 15-12, 12-15, 17-16, 13-15, 15-13.
"It would have been better if we would have won 9-0," Lifford said. "But they're a lot better team than last year."
Although Harvard cannot win the regular-season national or Ivy titles outright, a victory over Yale will still keep one jewel of the crown Crimson.
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