Crimson Matmen Fall to Big Red In First Ivy League Loss, 22-13

"We were nipped. We were in much better shape than they were, but you just can't give them that much of a lead and expect to win." Harvard wrestling coach John Lee said after his varsity mat men had been defeated by Cornell, 22-13, at Ithaca on Saturday afternoon.

The Crimson, in its second Ivy League match of the season, tied one bout, lost three by one point, and lost two more by two points. Cornell coach Jimmy Miller called Harvard "the best-conditioned team we've wrestled all season."

Ghosts

"This loss will haunt us." Lee said yesterday. "If we get rolling the way we want to, we will regret this defeat."

As expected, the outcome of the match depended on the results in the middle weight group, where the strength of both teams was concentrated. The Crimson lost all three bouts by one point.

Junior Pat Coleman, unbeaten at 150, fell behind John St. John, 6-0, and could never recover. Coleman, who also lost to St. John last year, closed the gap to 9-8 before going down to his first defeat. "That one really hurt us," Lee said.

In the 158-pound bout. Colin Mangrum battled Cornell captain Ben Bishop to the end, but Bishop emerged with a fatal 7-6 victory. Stung by a second consecutive narrow loss, Lee admitted, "It was tight, but Bishop deserved the win."

Frustration prevailed on the Harvard bench when Bart Harvey (167) lost to Dave Outlet in yet another one-point decision. 7-6.

With Harvard mathematically eliminated. Lee was not expecting the performances he got from his heavyweights.

Mark Faller, up from his usual 167-pound class, crushed Charlie Hunt, 16-5, in the 177-pound bout. Tony Rayner, in an even more surprising performance, pinned Gary Debella in their 190-pound confrontation.

Rayner jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, then scored a beautiful takedown and sub-sequent fall. "It was amazing how easily he pinned him." Lee said. Debella had lost only one match before Saturday.

Sophomore Jim Cain again filled in for the injured Jim Abbott in the heavyweight bout, losing a close 7-5 decision.

Tom Schnorr, despite a broken nose sustained Thursday in practice, managed a tie at 118, and Steve Monsulik took Tom Kopolow to the limit before losing, 7-5. Manager Eric Behrens was pinned after only one minute at 134, and suffered a shoulder injury to boot.

Captain Paul Catinella downed Glenn Wank, 3-1, at 142 to complete the scoring for Harvard.

The Yardling grapplers easily defeated the Cornell freshmen, 26-10, in a preliminary match.