Rafto managed to handle the defeat lightly, quipping after the race, "We were pretty tightly bunched--we were just bunched in the wrong place."

Rafto identified the reasons for the lackluster performance as first-race flatness, problems related to the short time the squad has been together, and the competition. "They're probably the best we'll see all year," he commented.

Optimism

No one on the Crimson seemed too worried about the showing, though. Sheehan looked strong, Meyer ran unexpectedly well, and Scidmore held his own in his first outing. (McCurdy: "He ran a helluva race.") Most important, Rafto and Eichner will lower their times drastically in the coming weeks as surely as reading period will roll around come January.

For the record, the dual meet scores were essentially shutouts (Providence 15-Harvard 47, UMass 15-Harvard 46), so it was probably best to write off the meet with a laugh.

"We were hoping for some development here today," chuckled McCurdy when it was all over, adding, "I think we went about this just right--leaving plenty of room for development."