Matmen Flounder in Quadrangular As Surprising Indiana Nabs Title

The Harvard wrestling team stumbled to one win and two losses in a quad-rangular meet at Virginia Tech Saturday, as the perennial Big Ten cellar-dweller. Indiana, surprised everyone and easily won the team title with three victories.

The Crimson opened with losses to Georgia Tech and Indiana, then regrouped for a narrow 19-18 decision over host Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech also finished with 1-2 marks.

With Harvard leading 14-13, and Tony Rayner out in front 11-0 in his 177-pound match, Victory seemed likely in the matmen's opening match against Georgia Tech. The picture changed abruptly, however, when Rayner was pinned in the final period of his bout.

Dropped Ball

"We dropped the ball?" Harvard coach John Lee said of the Georgia Tech loss Dave Seanlon won at 1?? to put Harvard within one point of the Yellow Jackels, but Jim Cain, subbing for Jim Abbott in the Ireavyweigh class, lost a 6-5 decision in the last bout, and Georgia Tech pulled out a 21-17 win.

Harvard blew its first five bouts against Indiana before Mike Slutzker salvaged a tie at 158 and Mark Faller got a fall at 167. It was all downhill from that point, however, as the Hoosiers went on to a convincing 28-7 victory.

"They were a better balanced team than we anticipated." Lee said Sunday referring to the Indianans. The Hoosiers had lost four straight matches to tough Big Ten opponents before Saturday.

Although Indiana outdistanced the Crimson by a large margin, four bouts were decided by one point, and another by two.

Newcomer Rick Battle, a sophomore who joined the team last week, looked promising as he won his opening bout at ?34 against Georgia Tech, 6-2, and lost a narrow 4-3 decision to Indiana's best performer.

Ba??? was pinned in his final bout against Vinginia Tech, but this was due primarily to exhaustion. "He didn't have too much left in that last bout, but he did a nice job overall." Lee said.

Harvard finally got on the winning track against Virginia Tech, but it took clutch wins by Scanlon and Cain to garner the victory.

Rayner had again jumped out to a commanding fead, 9-?, in his 177-pound bout, but he was reversed for a pin in the final stanza. That loss gave Tech an 18-13 lead with two bouts remaining, but Scanlon and Cain won decisions to turn the tide.

Stever M??ulik won his first bout of the season at 126, 5-3, to give Harvard a boost in the lower weights. "I was glad to see Steve win one: he has been working hard all season, and has really come along lately," Lee said.

Another Fall

Captain Paul Catinella turned in a strong performance at 142, as he held Tech's Bob Reid to a 2-2 tie. Reid had won 26 straight matches prior to Saturday's action. Mark Faller came through with another fall at 167 to remain unbeaten in nine bouts this season.

Lee shuttled his lineup throughout the meet to employ as many fresh wrestlers as possible. Faller was the sole Harvard wrestler to win three bouts, but Lee said later, "Shuttling the lineup didn't cost us any of the matches."

Jim Abbott (unlimited) has recovered from a knee injury sustained in early January, but was held out of the lineup Saturday as a precautionary measure.