The last time Harvard's cross-country squad faced a team from Providence, it was, to put it mildly, trounced.

That was last Tuesday, when the Crimson harriers ran up against the top-ranked team in New England, the Providence Friars. Harvard's foes this afternoon in Providence, the Brown Bruins, are far less intimidating.

As a result, the meet's outcome will likely be a good deal closer than the final score of that Harvard-Providence encounter--a score Crimson Coach Bill McCurdy would just as soon forget.

Winless

In fact, McCurdy would no doubt like to forget several scores. His harriers are so far winless this season, and their 0-5 record includes a third-place finish in their most recent outing, a tri-meet versus Penn and Columbia.

"We're just not as strong as in past years, especially in terms of numbers to choose from," McCurdy said yesterday.

"I know that we're getting our brains beaten out, but a number of people have really shown progress," he said. Senior Bill Muller and sophomores Brian Dunn and Tom Phillips have improved over last year's form, but "have not progressed far enough to win meets," McCurdy said.

Brown Unknown

With a 1-1 record, which includes a narrow victory over Yale and a loss of Providence, Brown is an unknown quantity. "Apparently, they've got one good runner named Barlow," McCurdy said, but "I don't know how to rate the doggone meet."