Grapplers Get Dumped Thrice In Season's Longest Weekend

A disappointed Harvard wrestling team returned to Cambridge Sunday night with a 4-10 record after losses to Springfield, Yale and Connecticut and a win over Brown in triangular meets held in Connecticut this weekend.

The grapplers made their first stop in Storrs, Conn. Saturday where they took on the Springfield Chiefs and the University of Connecticut Huskies.

In the first round of matches the tough Chiefs held the Crimson winless, running up a score of 41-0. The losses included Paul Winderman's defeat at the hands of Springfield star Matt Hawes in the 118-1b. class. Hawes, now 21-1 on the season, after leading 3-0 going into the final period, scored the six points on two takedowns. Widerman gained one point on an escape the final score, 9-1.

Captain Craig Beling tested Jeff Blatnick, Springfield's standout in the unlimited class his roughest match this year, but Beling expended too much energy escaping a Greco-Roman throw in the first period and Blatnick capitulated, pinning Beling at 7:25.

"Blatnick is presently ranked number two in the nation and is the best riding heavyweight I've ever seen," Beling said yesterday.

"The lopsided score is the result of a calculated risk I made when I didn't send all my best boys against Springfield so we could go all out against Connecticut," Coach Johnny Lee said yesterday.

To The Dogs

Harvard lost to the Huskies in a tight 28-20 battle. In the 190 1b. class, freshman Mark Cooley and Beling led the Crimson with pins. Wins by 177-1b. Tony Cimmarrusti and Widerman couldn't save the grapplers from another tough loss.

Yale whipped Harvard 33-15 Sunday in New Haven, Conn. Once again Beling demonstrated his superiority when he pinned the Bulldog's Mike Makuch at the end of the first period. Yale gained a key victory when Leigh Tonei outmatched sophomore Rick Kief 9-5. Kief is just beginning to gain momentum after being sidelined through the early season with an ankle injury.

Harvard earned its only team victory when it rolled over Brown Sunday night by a score of 41-12. Senior John Franklin notched an important win in the 150-1b. class fighting back from near defeat and pinning his opponent with just four seconds remaining in the final period.

"This has been a disappointing way to end my Harvard wrestling career because the team had the potential to do much better," Franklin said yesterday. "Wrestling takes a lot of dedication and energy, unfortunately all the injuries this season have cancelled out much of our efforts," he added.