Strong Maroon Squad Hosts Matmen Tonight

Funny thing about little Springfield College and its little wrestling team. The funny thing is it's a good little wrestling team, possibly the best little wrestling team in the country, and Harvard may have more than it can handle when it travels to Springfield tonight for a match with the Maroons.

Last year in Cambridge. Springfield blasted the Crimson 30 to 4 as Harvard managed only a pair of ties. This season, the Maroons have beaten Cornell (although the Big Red wasn't using its ordinary starting lineup) and were recently ranked the top small college team in the NCAA.

Some of the better Harvard wrestlers will be facing stiff matches. Howie Henjyoji wrestles Charlie Dameron of Springfield at 123, and Paul Padlak meets the Maroons' John Doss at 160. Chris Wickens and Jeff Grant, at 167 and 177 for the Crimson, take on Fred Peraino and Joe Cerra. Padlak scored the only pin against Columbia on Saturday.

Howie Durfee, recovered from an injury, returns to the Harvard lineup at 145. It's a good thing, since several different wrestlers tried to fill in at the weight class during Durfee's absence and shared an almost total lack of success. Both teams have agreed to wrestle a 115-pound match. Sophomore Andy Kopecki will start at that weight for the Crimson.

The rest of the Harvard lineup will be unchanged, with Kopecki at 115, Henjoyji at 123, Bing Sung at 130, captain Tom Gilmore at 137, Durfee at 145, Ed Franquemont at 152, Padlak at 160, Wickens at 167, Grant at 177, Bill Malugon at 191, and Tack Chace at heavyweight.