Wrestlers to Open Season Tonight Against Powerhouse Cornell Squad

Five returning lettermen and three sophomores will be in the lineup tonight as the varsity wrestling team opens its season at the I.A.B. against a tough Cornell squad rated as one of the best in the East.

Although the varsity is fielding one of its strongest teams in recent years, the Big Red must be considered a heavy favorite. The Ithacans, defending Ivy champions, have lost very little from last year's championship squad, and have already defeated Lehigh, a perennial mat power.

With only one man gone from a team that had a 5-4-1 record and with several fine sophomore prospects, the Crimson figures as one of the best squads in the Ivy League, behind Cornell. Ex-captain Bob Foster, undefeated in dual-meet competition and fourth in the Eastern Intercollegiates last year, should again be one of the top men in the league at 177 and is expected to win tonight.

Noble Expected to Win

Captain Joe Noble, at 157, defeated Cornell's Friedman by one point last year, and should pull through again in another close match. The varsity's main other hope is sophomore Pete Stanley, at 167, who was undefeated as a freshman last year, but is untested in varsity competition.

Elsewhere, the picture looks fairly bleak for tonight's meet: Cornell's Auble, facing Dave Skeels at 123, finished high in last year's Easterns, as did Vinton and Dunlop, pitted respectively against sophomore Nick Estabrook at 147, and Ted Robbins in the heavyweight class.

The other Crimson starters--sophomore Hal Pouser at 130, and junior John Watkins at 137--face similarly difficult tasks against experienced opposition. Cornell is undoubtedly the toughest team the varsity must face this season, but especially in the Ivy League, anything can happen, though it probably won't.