Barnaby: Whistlin' the Same Ol' Tune

How do you improve on a record of nine national team titles in ten years, six Intercollegiate Tournament Championships in eight years, nine Ivy titles in ten years, and seven undefeated seasons over the past ten years?

That is the major challenge facing this winter's squash team, and the preseason answer has already been forming: You pass the problem on to next year's team by adding another undefeated season to the record book.

For the Crimson is returning seven starters from an undefeated varsity squad that dropped only four points all season. The Crimson has such depth and talent this winter that last year's number ten and the Yardling's top returner will have to battle to make the starting ladder. Even restrained Crimson coach Jack Barnaby is echoing the perennial opinions of opposition coaches: "Harvard is the team to beat this year, until proven otherwise."

Few predicted last year that Harvard's squash dynasty would continue. Penn, claiming the top two intercollegiate players and a strong returning squad, was billed as more than just an intercollegiate champion. The Quakers were to be a "superteam" and a new dynasty. But the Quakers were forced to let their champagne age in the locker room, for a bunch of untested Harvard sophomores and juniors humiliated the Quakers on their own home court, 6-3.

This year, the roles are reversed. In the "year to pick on Harvard," as Barnaby called it last November, Penn and the others failed. This year, Penn will be the leading contender for the spoiler role that Harvard filled last season.

The Crimson was supposed to be especially weak at the top of the ladder last year, but junior Dave Fish and sophomore Peter Briggs surprised the opposition and dropped only one match between them as they alternated at the first and second slots. This winter, Fish and Briggs will rate as favorites in all their matches, except perhaps against the two top players in last year's intercollegiate singles championship, Penn's Palmer Page and Williams' Ty Griffin.

Briggs finished the year at number one. He is a talented player with a wide variety of shots and surprises. Barnaby has spent the preseason trying to add "a tactical sophistication" to Brigg's abilities. "He has matured a great deal into a challenging competitor," Barnaby said.

Pushing Briggs for the top spot on the ladder will be Fish, the team's captain. Fish's success rests on his great racquetwork and his ability to withstand pressure. Barnaby feels that Fish could become a top player if he improves his speed on the court.

Together, these two should give the Crimson the toughest pair in the Intercollegiate A division.

Behind Briggs and Fish the Crimson lost its number three and four men to graduation, but Harvard can advance three lettermen who were undefeated at five through seven last year. Senior Alan Quasha won his matches last winter with what Barnaby calls "consummate case." Barnaby said Quasha's strength is his "knowledge of the strategy of the game." Quasha finished the season last winter ranked number one in the Intercollegiate "C" division.

Behind Quasha is junior Dan Gordon, a big player who relies on his strength and hard drives to wear down an opponent. Gordon won the C division tournament last winter. Gordon, too, is a player with talent who can use Barnaby's instruction of "tactical sophistication."

Rounding out the top half of the ladder will be Andy Weigand. A junior who played at seven last year, Weigand has yet to face the challenges of really tough competition, but several players on the team last year felt that Weigand belonged higher up on the ladder than number seven.

While other squads struggled to find replacements at the bottom of their depleted ranks. Barnaby can round out his line-up with lettermen. At eight last year, Neil Vosters is perhaps the strongest player on the squad and the most fiery. Again, Barnaby's refinement could help Vosters climb on the varsity ladder.

Lowell Pratt was undefeated at number nine last year and won most of his matches easily in three games. "He'll have to pick up the full scope of the game that you don't meet at the lower levels," Barnaby said.

Five players are presently battling for the last two positions on the ladder. Senior Reggie Foster played at eight and nine last fall but may be held back by class work this fall. Two others, Rob Shapiro and Bob Sedgewick have two years of experience playing at ten and eleven.

Two sophomores have a chance to break into the varsity ladder. Glen Whitman, number one off last year's Yardlings, has been ambitious in the spending practices. "He needs to be transformed from the slugger to the sophisticated tactician," Barnaby commented. Sophomore Archie Gwathmay, who won the New England junior championship two years ago, is another contender. He is a big, tall player who has the athletic ability to move into one of the bottom four positions.

Barnaby has the opportunity to use freshmen this fall, but it is unlikely that he will. "It's not fair to a boy to take him from number one on the freshman where he is challenged and put him at ten or eleven in the varsity."

Barnaby feels that injuries are the only obstacle between Harvard and an intercollegiate title. But with five players equally capable of stepping in at eight or nine, even Mother Nature may have to admit impotency in trying to stop the Crimson.

Sloppy to date

"Very sloppy" is Barnaby's description of the team to date. "That's true of every team that hasn't played all summer," Barnaby added. "I'm encouraged by the attitude of the players. They're out to become fine players and not just worried about their number on the squad."

Barnaby's pre-season training emphasizes learning why to hit a shot rather than just how. "I teach the boys to play percentage shots and carry a point until they are in a position to hit a winning percentage shot," Barnaby said. Harvard uses an open-faced racket and aims comfortably above the tin to avoid mistakes. "We'll learn how to hit the ball not the tin," Barnaby added.

Traditionally, Harvard has faced two distinct seasons--an intercollegiate schedule and the Saturday match with Penn. This winter the preparation for the Quakers' visit in February will be more demanding. Harvard must open its competition against Army on the Cadets' courts in West Point. The Crimson will also have to host challenging Navy in the early portion of the schedule.

"These fairly tough matches should get the team off the mark and moving early in the season," Barnaby said.

Harvard has the material to continue its success in squash. If the Crimson can avoid the overconfidence that undermined Penn last winter, the burden of reputation should pass on to next year's squad