Grapplers Drop Ivy Opener

It was a perfect example of winning the battle but losing the war.

The Harvard wrestling team swept five individual bouts from the heavily favored Cornell squad, while losing just four, and tying one Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y.; yet when the meet was over the scoreboard read: Cornell 23, Harvard 17.

Thus began another season of Ivy League wrestling for the Crimson--a squad that has never won an Ivy League title in the more than 30 years of Ivy League wrestling competition. To make matters worse, the loss also marked the first Ivy League defeat for the team's new head coach, Jim Peckham.

On the positive side, the match showed that the Crimson--heavy underdogs in the Ivy title hunt this year--have the potential to pull a few surprises. With Cornell slipping by with just six points to spare, the Harvard wrestlers find themselves on par with the top teams in the league (Cornell mauled Yale, 40-7, last weekend.)

Fishy

"It was a sort of fluke outcome," said senior Tri-Captain Steve Farrell, adding that three of Cornell's victories came as pins, leaving Harvard struggling to catch-up most of the afternoon.

Harvard (7-5 overall, 0-1 in the Ivies) now faces an uphill battle, especially in light of a stew of injuries that have plagued the team thus far this season.

"We just don't have enough depth," Peckham said. The coach, who insists he is determined to turn the Harvard wrestling program around, said, "We have just 22 on our squad, and Cornell has 39. And they've been recruiting some of the top prospects in recent years."

"As it stands now, we're just not supposed to win under these conditions," he added.

Peckham is counting on some young talent to make the difference along the way. Two big surprised thus far this year are freshmen Joel San Pedro (118-Ibs.), who won a nifty 12-9 decision against Cornell, and Courtney Henry (126--Lbs.), who is nursing a bad ankle, and suffered a six point defeat Saturday.

At 134 lbs. Jeff Pellatier, filling in this season for Scott Beck who is on leave, suffered a pin. With the Crimson down 12-3, junior Tri-Captain Jeff Clark--whom Peckham describes as the team's most talented wrestler "When he has his mind into it"--outclassed his opponent and took a three-point decision.

John Freeman (150 lbs.), who has been turning in solid performances throughout the first half of the season, fell to a tough opponent, dropping the score to 18-6. Junior Pate Homes took a close match and three point decisions, while senior Tri-Captain Jerry Greenberg (167 lbs.) not only suffered a pin--his first defeat of the season--but injured himself in the process.