It's Reebok's "Dan and Dave" all over again for these two. Ezra and Clark have been fierce competitors for three years now, though Ezra quickly adds "all competition is left on the court."

"I think we're both excited about playing each other," Clark said of the confrontation in the finals which both players expect.

But Clark has been sick lately, and Scott Stoneburgh the third-seeded hitter from Western Ontario--promises to give him a tough semi-final match.

And even Ezra admits a few token doubts. "Hardball is an inconsistent game," he said. "Anyone on a good streak could beat anybody else.

Ezra, who is from India, also said he's had trouble adjusting to American "Hardball" squash from "softball" squash, the wide court squash game played in the rest of the world.

In fact, Ezra, who won the hardball championship two years ago and took second last year (Jeremy Fraiberg '92 won that year)--still says his biggest weakness is that he is simply not a hardball player.

"My fundamental hardball basics are wrong," he said, "or not as right as they should be."

Nonetheless Ezra isn't too afraid of this year's competition. "This year's a significantly weaker field," he said. "At least that's what I feel."