Matmen Bow to UMass; Fail to Build Early Lead

The varsity grapplers took on New England powerhouse University of Massachusetts last night in the IAB and fought it out with the Minutemen down to the last match before losing, 21-15.

Harvard staked its hopes on building up a lead in the lower brackets, since in the heavier half of the lineup U Mass features two of last year's New England champions.

The trio of Milt Yasunaga (126 lbs.), Bill Mulvihill (134 lbs.) and George Baker (142 lbs.) has been Harvard's strongpoint recently, and Dave Albert (118 lbs.) was coming off his first win of the year. As it turned out, however, Harvard could do no better than split these first four crucial contests.

Albert opened by slipping past his opponent, 7-5, and Yasunaga followed with a 9-6 win, but coach John Lee said that neither win should have been that close.

Trouble

Then, the trouble really began for Harvard. In the third period of Mulvihill's match, the Harvard grappler trailed, 5-2. His foe had already been called twice for stalling, the second offense accounting for Mulvihill's second point. With 40 seconds left, the U Mass matman was detected stalling again, making the score 5-3.

At the buzzer, Mulvihill made a frantic lunge at his opponent, who refused contact and was called for stalling for the fourth time, giving Mulvihill two more points and a 5-5 tie.

In every match, a point is awarded to the man who has held the advantage for the greatest length of time. The "riding point" went to U Mass, and Mulvihill was a 6-5 loser.

Next, Baker was beaten, 9-5, and the contest was tied. "When the score was tied after those first four matches, I knew we were in trouble," Lee said.

The match quickly started to slip away from Harvard. Bill Snyder (150 lbs.), the fourth man to start in that trouble spot this year, lost 5-2, giving U Mass the lead. Then, New England champion Blom dominated Jim Corcoran for a 7-2 victory.

Great Effort

Harvard was behind, 12-6, and on its way down the drain, but a great effort by Ed Bordley put the Crimson right back in the thick of the fight.

Bordley, a blind freshman, had lost all three of his starts this year to tough opponents. Midway through the second period last night, tied 2-2, Bordley caught his opponent in a cradle and pressed it home for the pin. The match was tied 12-12.

With three matches left, Harvard expected a loss to Fenton in the With three matches left, Harvard expected a loss to Fenton (unlimited) in the finale, but could still take the match by winning the first two bouts. The last push was not there.

Captain Jim Strathmeyer (176 lbs.) was locked in a furious battle with his opponent when, in the final period, he put himself in a dangerous position while trying to roll his man. His foe took advantage of the chance, and caught Strathmeyer in a pinning hold. The third period fall put U Mass back in the driver's seat, 18-12.

Sal D'agostino kept Harvard's hopes alive in the 190 lb. class by building a 7-0 lead and then holding on for a 7-6 victory. Trailing by only three points going into the final match, a Crimson victory would have still been possible were it not for Minutemen behemoth Dennis Fenton.

The New England champion put Harvard's Kip Smith away methodically, winning 6-0 to end the match.