Cornell Bats Matmen

A little strategy combined with a little luck was all that Cornell needed to defeat the the Harvard wrestling team, 26-15, in the Crimson's first Ivy League match of the season.

Saturday's tightly-fought match, moreover, presented a perfect picture of the Ivy League this season. Neither team dominated and the match could easily have gone either way. In fact, a key loss--which came as a result of what can be best described as a fluke pin--turned the match around.

With Harvard down, 8-6, after the first four matches, Co-Captain Jerry Greenberg, wrestling at 150 lbs., was tied, 2-2, with a few seconds remaining in the first period.

After a quick Cornell takedown attempt, and then a counter by Greenberg, the Harvard grappler found himself on his back for an instant. The pin gave the Big Red a 14-6 lead, which was too much for the Crimson to make up.

The Harvard wrestlers, however, still remained optimistic about the team's chances for its first-ever Ivy League title. "I'm disappointed, but no one [in the Ivies] will go through the season undefeated," said 134-lb. Jeff Clark.

The match started off well for the Crimson, as it took two of the first three matches. Steve Fabry, 118-lb. taking the place of Mike Meade (who suffered a hernia last month), lost a four-point decision, but 126-lb. Scott Beck took a decisive 10-7 victory.

While Beck controlled the match and was ahead in the last period, 10-2, he appeared exhausted in the last minute and gave up five quick points.

Jeff Clark, at 134-lb., kept his strong season rolling with an 8-4 win, giving the Crimson a 6-4 lead.

Disaster struck for the Crimson, however, as 142-lb. Mike Hanrahan, Greenberg and then 158-lb. Pete Holmes all suffered defeats. When the three matches were over Cornell led, 18-6.

This set the stage for Co-Captain Steve Farrell's come-from-behind victory, which kept the Crimson's hopes alive.

Down 6-4 at the start of the second period, Farrell took a one-point escape with less than a minute left. With six seconds to go, Farrell recorded a two-point take-down and won the match, 7-6, bringing the score to 18-9.

Cornell, however, iced the match with victories over 177-lb. Kevin McGinty and 190-lb. Kelly Flynn.

Heavyweight Kevin Wattles finished off the day in his usual style by mauling his opponent to score scoring a first-period pin.