"When I started, my standard joke was that I'd try to destroy the program first," Fish said. "Then if I wasn't fired, any success after that would be based on my efforts."

After his first three years as coach, Fish led the Crimson to a 25-5 record, remarkable by ordinary standards. But following in the considerable footsteps of Cowles and Barnaby, Fish's 83 percent winning percentage was just not up to par.

But in the eight years since, the racquetmen have produced a 77-2 record, including six Ivy, national and six-man titles.

"Dave Fish is a wonderful coach," Barnaby said.

"I realized that I was living under the myth of infallibility with regard to Jack [Barnaby] and Henry Cowles," Fish said. "I had ideas of my own, especially about conditioning, training, and body movement--things Jack never worried too much about."

Those ideas, however they differ from the thinking of the pair of previous coaches, are seeing their fruition today. Just think, 58 games without a loss. Imagine a baseball team winning that much. Or a football team--58 wins translate into three Super Bowls in a row. Such a string surely would get noticed.

But the raquetmen can live without the publicity. They simply can't live with a loss.

"I don't happen to think it is the end of the world if the streak is broken," Adams said. "It's okay to lose once every four or five years."

But lose more than that and people might start paying attention.