Men's Squash Conquers Army

Losing only two games, the Crimson racquetmen bombed an outclassed Army team, 9-0, for the first win of their season at West Point.

Top man, Mike Desaulniers, dropped the first game of his match against the militaryman, before recovering to sweep the next three and score his victory. Freshman Mitch Reese, playing seventh, surrendered the only other game.

Except for those two matches it was a total whitewash. John Havens, returning to the line-up at the number two position, blanked his opponent, as did teammates Mark Panarese, Ned Bacon, and John Stubbs. Ditto for numbers eight and nine, Clark Bain and Chuck Elliott.

Sixth man, Clancy Nixon, participated in the most lopsided match of the day, destroying cadet Brian Bruin, 15-4, 15-6, and 15-6.

Desaulniers said he was "a little sleepy" at the beginning of his match and made a lot of "simple racquet errors." "I made the kind of errors you make when you're not as hyped up as you should be," he added.

Manager Whit Ford said the match was "not too much grist for the mill," although "few matches were total runaways." "Most of the games were 15-10 or 15-11 except for Nixon's," he added.

However, the most interesting aspect of the excursion, according to Ford, was talking to the cadets and seeing them "walk around with sabres and in full uniform."

Bacon quipped that the cadets were at a severe disadvantage since "they have to get to the balls in march formation." "Standing at attention while they serve also slows down their match tremendously," Stubbs added.

The team's record now stands at 1-1, but the loss to Western Ontario does not count toward the national or Ivy League championships. The racquetmen do not take to the courts again until reading period, when they face Williams in Williamstown on January 10.