Grapplers Man-Handle Panthers 34-2; Nine Victories Highlight Season Opener

In its season opener last night, the Harvard wrestling team took to the mat and slaughtered the Plymouth State Panthers 34-2, in Plymouth, N.H.

The grapplers were victorious in nine of their ten matches, and in the closest match of the evening, the Panthers managed to crawl away with a 2-2 tie in the 134-pound division.

Crimson 134 pounder Todd Gutfchow caught Panther Scott Lewia with a two-point double-leg takedown in the first period, but Lewia scored a one-point escape with a standup walk-away seconds later.

In the second period, Lewia tallied another escape point and tied the score, 2-2. In the third period, Lewia seemed to take control of the match, but Gutfchow refused to surrender. Although the Crimson grappler was warned for stalling, no penalty points were assessed and the bout ended in a deadlock.

The other battles were not nearly as close, with Harvard strong-arming Plymouth in the lower, middle and heavyweight classes.

"Their kids were pretty strong and we did about as well as I would have expected," Harvard coach Johnny Lee said, adding "I was pretty happy--we did very well."

Not so happy was Panther coach Jim Aguiar, whose team has been hand-tied by the Crimson three years in a row. "Harvard has an excellent club with some really class wrestlers," he said. "I was particularly impressed with Harvard's 118-pounder, Paul Widerman--he's in super condition," Aguiar added.

Widerman, who won 10-3, took his opponent Gary Rabinovitz to the mat three times in the first period for two point scores. Widerman dominated the second period and in the third section, he tallied another two-point takedown.

Aguiar, pleased to even escape with the losing decision in the 118-pound division, said, "We're lucky we even stayed on the mat in that fight because last time those two met, Widerman mauled Gary by something like 30-0."

In the screamer of the evening, the crowd of 150 rose to their feet to see the battle of the heavyweights. Harvard co-captain Jim Phills overpowered three-time all-New England AAU heavyweight Champ Bill Mitchell.

In the first period, Phills tackled Mitchell with a fireman's carry, scoring two points. Later in the period, Mitchell escaped from Phills' hold, narrowing the score to 2-1. In the second stanza there were no takedowns but both wrestlers tallied points with bursting escapes. In the third period, the grapplers battled back and forth with Phills managing to hold on to his one-point lead for the victory.

The Real Thing

"Those two are superb athletes for their size--they both look like Coke machines," Aguiar said, adding "Phills was a hair quicker and that was the deciding factor."

The Crimson's Andy McNerney demolished Jim Sausville 30-6 in the most lopsided brawl of the night. McNerney dominated each period of the one-sided match scoring takedown after takedown. "Our wrestler was a good kid, but McNerney was better--one of the best I've seen in a long time," Aguiar said.

The Crimson also tallied triumphs in the 126, 150, 158, 167, 177, and 190-pound divisions, with Rick Beller, Fritz Campbell, Sean Healey, Dave Baer, Barry Bausano, and Mark Cooley winning respectively.

Last year, the 17-4 Crimson defeated Plymouth 37-3.

Lee, however, does not want his wrestlers to become overconfident. This weekend the team travels to the 18-school Coast Guard Invitational in what Lee foresees as "a real test."