Crimson Golfers Ready to Attend N C A A Tourney

The Crimson golf team has accepted an invitation to attend the NCAA tourney in Colorado Springs next month. There had been some speculation that the Athletic Department would not finance the trip.

The speculation arose after the Crimson golfers lost possession of the Easterns Crown this year, finishing a disappointing fourth in the competition. The Athletic Department had agreed to pay the team's expenses to the NCAA As last year, in part because they won the Easterns title.

After this year's loss in the Easterns, captain Bruce LoPucki said that the only chance the golfers had of attending the national championship hinged on closing victories against Dartmouth and Princeton. Those victories never came as Dartmouth upset Harvard and the Tigers won handily at home. "After those losses, I though our chances of attending the NCAAs at that time were very slim," LoPucki said, "I never thought that we'd see Colorado Springs."

Frank Toland, business manager to the Department of Athletics, said that the department had no intention of withholding funds. "Their invitation was based on their complete record over the year, as well as their performance in the NCAAs last year--not just those last two matches," Toland said.

Short Summers

The Crimson golfers, competing in the NCAAs for the first time in over 29 years last season, finished 17th, ahead of half the field. The finish was particularly encouraging for a northeastern team that did not have the long-playing season of a southern school.

The top finishers in the Easterns for the Crimson will make up the Harvard NCAA entry. They are captain Bruce Lopucki, next year's captain Yank Heisler, Jack Purdy, Barney Oldfield and Tommy Wynne.

Putting and Driving

The format for the competition is similar to that of the Easterns. In the initial rounds, school compete for team honors. Additional rounds determine individual honors. The national tourney will also have specialized competition in putting and driving off the tee.

Toland denied that the golf team was being sent to the NCAAs only because the baseball team had not been invited. "The golf team would have gone no matter what," he said.