Varsity Wrestlers Come From Behind To Down Rugged Wesleyan, 18-16

Harvard's varsity wrestling team fell behind 13-0, then rallied to defeat Wesleyan. 18-16, in the season opener for both teams at Middleton Saturday afternoon.

Wesleyan swept the first three weight groups to take a commanding lead, but the Crimson came back to win six of the next seven matches.

"I couldn't have imagined us winning by a wider margin." Harvard coach John Lee said yesterday. "We performed as well as could be expected considering our lack of depth at the lower weights."

Sophomore Jay Galeski (118) was pinned at the 4:59 mark in his match against Wesleyan's co-captain, Bobby Fong, and senior Tom Schnorr fell to the Cardinal's John White. 11-8, in the 126-pound class. Schnorr, usually a 118-pounder, was forced to move up to the 126-pound class when senior Bruce Goodman (126) quit the team last week.

Down 13-0

Harvard went behind 13-0 when inexperienced sophomore Steve Monsulik was pinned after only 1:30 in his 134-pound match. Monsulik never had a chance, but as Lee said, "Steve's loss was far from unexpected."

Harvard bounced back in the next two matches with captain Paul Catinella (142) and eastern semi-finalist Pat Coleman (150) winning decisively. 9-1.

The 158-pound match was not as close as the score indicated. Harvard sophomore Colin Mangrum had his hands full, dropping a 4-0 decision to New England intercollegiate champion Mark Stebbens. The loss gave Wesleyan a 16-6 lead.

Rayner Romps

Eastern semi-finalist Mark Faller, though not in top form, had little trouble with the Cardinal's Bill Gavin in a 7-1 win, and Tony Rayner (177) came through with an impressive 9-0 victory for the Crimson.

"Tony's performance was a pleasant surprise," Lee said. "That was by far the best match that he has wrestled at Harvard,"

Steady Dave S?a?lon defeated George Beers, 5-1. in the 190-pound class, and heavyweight Jim Abbott clinched the victory for Harvard by beating massive Bill Hazel, 4-0. Hazel, an imposing figure at 260 pounds, failed to intimidate Abbott. who is overweight at 220.

The Harvard freshmen also won their opening match Saturday, downing the Wesleyan fresmen, 27-13. without the services of three starters.