Arm Wrestlers Prepare; Buckley Awaits Draft

Gentleman--and ladies--flex your muscles. The fourth annual Andrew Puopolo Memorial Wrist-Wrestling Tournament is about to begin.

This year's tourney begins on April 28 and runs through the 30th. Director DAVE BINDELGLASS says he hopes to increase the number of participants to more than 200 from last year's estimated 125 wrestlers.

Contestants will have to fend with defending champions inmost of the ten weight classes--five for men and five for women-but no one has been training especially hard, so newcomers shouldn't be discouraged from entering.

Winthrop House senior ALEX DEJESUS, defending champion in the men's 140-160-lb, division, said he has done nothing to train for his upcoming title defense, but added, "It's a lot of fun. I guess I'll go out there and defend it. Sure."

SONYA KEENE, who said she learned wrist wrestling from her father and practiced the sport throughout her adolescence, will defend her women's 100-120-lb, division championship. She added, however, that her defense "is going to be difficult because I'm in a run-down condition because of illness."

Other defending champions--including O-World's MARILYN BUTLER--were equally laid-back about their plans to defend their titles. But you can bet they'll all be there, so you should too. Bindelglass said he hopes to raise 3500 for Boston Latin's Puopolo Memorial Scholarship Fund.

See you at Kirkland House on the 28th sports.

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The bureaucrats may say it is off season for intercollegiate soccer,but don't tell that to certain members of the Harvard soccer team. After a long-and potentially dangerous--winter of late-night indoor soccer. Harvard soccer players are off and running. This weekend, several players including JOHN LYONS, DENNIS PERESE, LANCE AYRAULT,and FRANK RICAPITO, head off a Wheaton College to compete and party at Wheaton's annual round-robin tournament. The Harvard squad is the defending champion, but will have to defend its title without varsity captain JOHN DUGGAN and former captain MIKE SMITH,,it doesn't really matter though,it's all in fun, just ask the Wheaton girls.

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Wondering how the rugby seam plans to use the beer mugs they won last week for capturing the Ivy League title? A recent Crimson poll indicates that the team itself is divided over which beers should fill the victory mugs.

Forward captain AL HALLIDAY likes Molson because "like the beer, I'm from Canada." Halliday admitted that most of the team prefers Budweiser, the "traditional team beer."

Rugger KURT OPPERMANN also favors Molson. "Because it's little bit heavier than most American brands, I think it's a better beer," the tillback explained.

Proudly endorsing Budweiser, wing forward BILL LOONEY bragged, "I guess I'm just a blue collar at heart." Sophomore GREG CAREY agreed, proclaiming "Budweiser tastes the best. I don't think you'll get many arguments about that."

Lowenbrau, however,is the beer of juniorCHARLIE BOTT, A resident of England, Rott likes Lowesbrau "because it's the most European."

"There's really no 'official' team beer," Roy Roberts president of the team, insists. "We never really think about what we drink-we drink whatever's cheapest."

Despite these disegreements, the team is unified on one point: winning a new set of mugs at the national championship early next month. As Halliday says. "We'll really use those mugs then."

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After leading his team to victory in the Blue-Gray game at last season's end,BRIAN BUCKLEY, the Blue team's offensive MVP and an all-Ivy quartgrback, knew he could play football with the nation's best.

New England Patriots player personnel director Dick Steinberg called Buckley one of the three "local guys we think can play in this league," With the annual draft next Tuesday and Wednesday, Harvard may see one of its own picked by the big league.

Buckley received latters from all 26 teams, and flew to Dallas and New York to take tests and work out with the squads. Both he and lineman MIKE DURGIN-- another draft possiblility--will attend summer camps as free agents if they do not make the draft.