Grapplers Take Two, Fall to Quakers

Although at times our "concentrations" and "TFs" can be baffling jargon, there was such no confusion this weekend at the two Harvard wrestling tournaments.

Call it power. Call it determination. Or even relentlessness. Either way the message was perfectly clear: The Harvard wrestling team is on the rise.

The Crimson, ranked No. 24 in the country, finished 3-1 in a two-day battle on the mats. Friday evening, Harvard easily swept both Princeton, 38-3, and Springfield, 35-6.

Saturday proved a bit more challenging. The team defeated UMass-Lowell, 25-18, but lost a well-fought meet against Penn, 21-9, who came to this meet ranked No. 14.

Friday's matches were ones of sheer dominance. The freshmen were especially impressive against Princeton, with Kevin El-Hayek winning in the 126-pound weight class and Brad Soltis winning at 190 pounds, each of whom pinned their opponents.

Springfield was also defeated with ease. Tri-captain James Butera started the meet with a pin, only to be followed later by sophomore Fran Volpe, who pinned his competitor in the first period.

The most exciting matches of the evening may have been the two victories by senior Lauralee Summer and freshman Danielle Hobeika, the first two female wrestlers at Harvard. In their matches against the women of Springfield, both pinned their opponents.

"It was fun just to go out there and get more experience, especially since this was the first time ever on Harvard mats," Hobeika said.

Harvard Coach Jay Weiss was very pleased with Friday's showing.

"It was so great to see so many kids take a step up. We wrestled well from top to bottom," Weiss said.

The Crimson faced tougher competition Saturday afternoon against UMass-Lowell. But the Harvard wrestlers were up to the task.

Freshmen Matt Picarsic (126 pounds) and Adam Truitt (177 pounds), juniors Nate Ackerman (158 pounds) and Curtis Anderson (167 pound), and sophomores Tom Kiler (142 pounds) and Kevin Kurtz (150 pounds)--each of whom won against Princeton the day before--turned in more great performances.

Freshman Scott Smider, despite losing, also put in a good effort at heavyweight, which is above his weight class.

After a pin by Kurtz, Harvard gained solid control of the meet--control which it would not relinquish.

"I've had such a great time with these guys," Truitt said. "Everybody pushes everybody. It is a really supportive atmosphere."

Such support and spirit culminated at Saturday night's big meet against Penn.Although the score was 21-9, it does not reflectthe true competitiveness of the meet. With adouble overtime, an overtime and three one-pointwins, the Quakers were definitely put to the test.

Among the Harvard triumphs was Butera'sthrilling 6-4 win, sweet revenge on an opponentwho had beaten him in previous meetings. Thisopened up the meet and set the tone for the closerace which was to follow.

Tri-captain Dustin DeNunzio's was victoriousover Mark Piotrowsky in the 134-pound weightclass. Ranked No. 4 nationally in his class,DeNunzio eventually overpowered No. 14-ranked MarkPiotrowsky with a 3-2 win. In the 158-pound class,sophomore Joe Killar (ranked no. 15) stepped upand handed his opponent a 6-4 loss.

Although these were the only official wins, theother matches were as close as they come.Tri-captain Ed Mosley lost a 5-6 heartbreaker toBrandon Slay in a sudden-death double overtime.Mosley is ranked 14th in the 167-pound weightclass while Slay is ranked second.

It was a dramatic match, one that did notproduce a winner even after two additional minutesof overtime. It was only in double overtime, whereSlay won the toss and chose his position, that thematch was decided.

The next three matches were also tight, withHarvard's Anderson, Volpe and senior Rob Durbinwrestling one weight class higher than their own.

"Everybody wrestled really well," said Volpe,who lost 4-6 after a valiant struggle thatcontinued into overtime.

"Also, it was great to see all the fan support.Hopefully it will continue in the future."

Losing in extremely close matches, Picarsic,Kiler and Kurtz showed the promise of this futureCrimson team.

Such impressive performances did not escape theattention of Penn Coach Roger Reina or of thosepacked into the bleachers.

"I was very proud of our team," Reina said. "Itwas a very competitive dual meet. This is thelargest crowed I've seen at Harvard forwrestling."

"I'm disappointed, but there were manyinspiring matches," said Harvard Coach Jay Weiss."The kids wrestled with a lot of heart. It is partof the journey, and we walk away learning a lot."

Butera was especially proud of the teamsperformance in his final dual meet against Penn.

"We did a great job. The team has come a longway," he said. "It is a closeknit bunch of guysand Coach Weiss is fantastic. He is the backbone,not just in terms of wrestling, but in buildingpersonality and character."

With three wins and a close loss to a rankedopponent, this weekend displayed the strength ofthat character

Among the Harvard triumphs was Butera'sthrilling 6-4 win, sweet revenge on an opponentwho had beaten him in previous meetings. Thisopened up the meet and set the tone for the closerace which was to follow.

Tri-captain Dustin DeNunzio's was victoriousover Mark Piotrowsky in the 134-pound weightclass. Ranked No. 4 nationally in his class,DeNunzio eventually overpowered No. 14-ranked MarkPiotrowsky with a 3-2 win. In the 158-pound class,sophomore Joe Killar (ranked no. 15) stepped upand handed his opponent a 6-4 loss.

Although these were the only official wins, theother matches were as close as they come.Tri-captain Ed Mosley lost a 5-6 heartbreaker toBrandon Slay in a sudden-death double overtime.Mosley is ranked 14th in the 167-pound weightclass while Slay is ranked second.

It was a dramatic match, one that did notproduce a winner even after two additional minutesof overtime. It was only in double overtime, whereSlay won the toss and chose his position, that thematch was decided.

The next three matches were also tight, withHarvard's Anderson, Volpe and senior Rob Durbinwrestling one weight class higher than their own.

"Everybody wrestled really well," said Volpe,who lost 4-6 after a valiant struggle thatcontinued into overtime.

"Also, it was great to see all the fan support.Hopefully it will continue in the future."

Losing in extremely close matches, Picarsic,Kiler and Kurtz showed the promise of this futureCrimson team.

Such impressive performances did not escape theattention of Penn Coach Roger Reina or of thosepacked into the bleachers.

"I was very proud of our team," Reina said. "Itwas a very competitive dual meet. This is thelargest crowed I've seen at Harvard forwrestling."

"I'm disappointed, but there were manyinspiring matches," said Harvard Coach Jay Weiss."The kids wrestled with a lot of heart. It is partof the journey, and we walk away learning a lot."

Butera was especially proud of the teamsperformance in his final dual meet against Penn.

"We did a great job. The team has come a longway," he said. "It is a closeknit bunch of guysand Coach Weiss is fantastic. He is the backbone,not just in terms of wrestling, but in buildingpersonality and character."

With three wins and a close loss to a rankedopponent, this weekend displayed the strength ofthat character