Grapplers Sweep Cornell, Columbia

While the cagers and icement--before huge crowds and much fanfare--have been marching to the top of their respective leagues, the wrestlers have quietly managed to become one of the best teams in New England and are in the midst of a battle to take the thief first Ivy League title ever.

The matmen (9-5 overall and 3-1 in the Iveies) rolled past both Cornell and Columbia this week end and held onto second position in New England, right behind Springfield, which defeated the Crimson by only a few points earlier this year.

Harvard's chance for an Ivy League title, however, is no longer in its hands as a result of last week's dissappointing four point loss to Princeton. to win or share the title, the Crimson must defeat both Brown and Yale, and hope that Princeton falls to either Cornell or Columbia.

"Cornell definitely has a shot to beat Princeton, and if Columbia gets their 150 pounder back, they have a chance, too," says sophomore Scott Beck.

Moreover, "against Princeton, tow or three matches could have gone either way," says grappler Mike Meade and since Harvard beat Cornell by only two points, the Big Red may very well put the Tigers away

After squeaking by Cornell, 22-20, on Friday, the Crimson demolished, 26-10, on Saturday.

"We expected a tough one," said Coach John Lee after the nip and tuck Cornell match, and that is exactly what they got. "It's been a long time coming," he added after the stunning victory.

A Year Ago

Cornell, which is perennially regarded as one of the toughest teams in the League, swept by the Crimson, 42-5, last year on its way to Ivy League title.

In the lightweight divisions, Meade at 118 lbs. and freshman Jeff Clark at 134 lbs, both posted victories, Clark, who had his opponent on his back in the first period, held on in the closing seconds of the match to take a 4-2 win.

At 142 lbs.. sophomore Jerry Greenberg fought back to take a 10-9 win after escaping a pin the first minute by sliding out of bounds.

Uh, Oh

Despite taking three of the first four matches, Harvard was only up 9-5. After a 12-7 victory by freshman John Freeman at 150 lbs., Peter Holmes had to forfeit his match after suffering a shoulder injury. Suddenly the Crimson found themselves up by just one point, 12-11.

Cornell then moved on top with just three matches remaining when sophomore John Zilcosky was pinned.

The Crimson heavyweights however, came through as tri-captains Barry Bausano and Sean Wallace handily defeated their opponents and in the process racked up five team points to give the Crimson a 22-17 lead with just one match remaining.

Heavyweight Paul Wiesen lost 4-2, but avoided a pin and secured the crucial victory.

Relative to the hard fought Cornell match, Harvad breezed by Columbia on Saturday at the IAB, taking seven of the 10 matches.

After the Crimson lost its first two matches, Clark took his second close fought victory of the weekend, winning 3-1 and at the same time cutting Columbia's lead to 7-3.

Greenburg and Holmes each took their matches, and Freeman escaped with an exciting 4-3 win.

After falling behind, 3-0. Freeman managed an escape to bring it to 3-1 at the end of the second period. After another one point escape, he was trailing 3-2 with 45 seconds left. Freeman took his opponent down in the closing seconds to claim the victory and give Harvard a 9-7 advantage.

All Downhill

From there, it was all downhill for Columbia, Bausano, Zilkosky and Wallace all breezed through their matches, outscoring their opponents, 35-6, to finsh off the match.

The Crimson faces off against Brown and Army next weekend.