Grapplers Stopped By Three Teams

Coming out of a dual meet against Boston University on Friday and a triangular against Seton Hall and Brown on Saturday, Harvard's wrestling team may have only one thing to be thankful for--that the regular season is finally over.

The weekend finale saw the Crimson lose at BU, 22-12, and fall to Brown, 24-12, and Seton Hall, 30-9, at Providence to end the season with 7-9-1 overall record and a 1-4 mark in the Ivy League.

After starting the season 6-2-1 overall, the injury-plagued Crimson has gone on to lose seven of their final eight regular-season contests, including this weekend's losses.

"We did have easier competition earlier on," assistant coach Rich Hasenfus said. "Also, we've had five starters out of the line-up for a while."

The loss to BU followed the pattern of many recent Crimson defeats. Inconsistent performances in the middle weight classes put the Crimson at a heavy disadvantage going into the final matches.

Harvard began the meet with back-to-back wins by decision at the 118-pound and 126-pound divisions, as sophomore Craig Vitagliano and tri-captain Steve Aoki, respectively, gave Harvard an early 6-0 lead.

At that point, the Terriers clawed their way to a commanding lead by taking the next five matches--four by taking the next five matches--four, by decision and one, in the 157-pound competition, on a technical fall.

After the five-match losing streak, the Crimson found itself down 16-6 and on the verge of being embarrassed by its cross-town foe.

Strong efforts by tri-captain John Drosos and senior Zach Cooper, who won the 177-pound and 190-pound weight classes by decision, salvaged Harvard's pride, and even put the Crimson, in a position to win; going into the heavyweight division down 16-12, a pin by sophomore Mike Terpstra could have saved the Crimson from defeat.

But BU's heavyweight man, Chris Kleckner, would have no part in a Harvard victory. He pinned Terpstra at 2:57 to produce the final margin of victory for the Terriers, 22-12.

In Harvard's first match on Saturday against Brown, Drosos and Cooper again came up with wins-by-decision in the 177-pound and 190-pound weight classes, respectively.

Their efforts were in vain, however, as the Crimson had dropped four of the five middle-weight match-ups, including the 158-pound match by pin, and the 142-pound match by technical fall.

Winning earlier for the Crimson in the Brown contest were Aoki in the 126-pound weight class and Ron Rabinowitz at 150 pounds.

The 30-9 loss to Seton Hall saw only three of the ten Crimson wrestlers leave the mat victorious.

Aoki won again by decision in the 126-pound division. Junior 167-pounder Bill Forlano also took his opponent by decision. And Cooper continued his hot streak with a 5-3 decision.

Drosos, the powerful Crimson 177-pounder, was hampered by an injury and lost for the only time this weekend.

"John was really hurt," Hasenfus said. "He was just wrestling for the team."

The Crimson hopes to have its line-up healthy by the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships at Cornell on March 4-5. If Aoki, Drosos and tri-captain Bill Counihan, who is recovering from a shoulder injury the tournament, Harvard has a chance to erase the memories of the regular season's disappointing finish.