Wrestling Team Loses to Lions

A 1-1 draw in the 191-pound bout enabled Columbia's wrestling team to stave off a closing Harvard threat and pull out a 19-18 victory at the IAB Saturday.

The Lions had built up a 17-6 lead on the strength of four straight decisions over non-aggressive Harvard middle-weights. Harvard jumped back into the meet when senior Paul Padlak, wrestling at 177, pinned Larry Emerson at 1:31 of the first period.

That brought the meet score to 17-11, and Harvard needed only a pin and decision in the final two matches to win or two decisions to tie.

But sophomore Jim Abbott, returning to action at 191 after suffering an injury, could not take down Columbia's Chuck Vagel in the final minutes of their match to break the 1-1 tie and set up a team victory. Heavyweight Bob Panoff's ensuing 6:49 pin over Rick Wojculewski only brought Harvard close in the final score.

Columbia took home the Richard G. Waite Trophy, established four years ago for the winner of this annual meet. The Lions brought their overall record to 2-6, and their Ivy record to 2-2. Harvard fell to 1-4 on the year, 0-3 in the league.

The Crimson's other winners Saturday were captain Andy Kopecki (123), who hung on for a 11-8 decision over Jim Lu, and sophomore Paul Cantinella, who soundly beat Jim Quattrochi at 137, 9-2.

Saturday's meet brought out the usual diverse collection of Harvard wrestling fans. Noticeable in the crowd were Vic Gatto, the athlete, and Robin Schulberg, the actress. They sat nearby but did not seem to recognize each other.