Wrestling Pummels Tigers

The Harvard wrestling team travelled to Princeton Saturday on a quest to attain its first Ivy League victory in over a year.

But unlike Jason and the Argonauts, King Arthur or Don Quixote, the Crimson returned triumphant.

Harvard defeated Princeton on its own mats, 17-15.

Also on Saturday, the Crimson split two other matches, beating Lycoming but falling to James Madison.

The meet raised the Crimson's overall record to 4-2 overall, 1-1 in the Ancient Eight.

"We were really happy to beat them," said junior wrestler John Drosos.

The lightweight members of the squad pulled more than their weight in the Crimson effort, building a 17-0 lead in the early going, a lead which Harvard would not relinquish despite a strong Princeton comeback.

Sophomore Craig Vitagliano wrestled in the most significant match of the day. The 118-pounder defeated Princeton's team captain in an exciting overtime match.

Without the victory, the team's outcome might have been different.

"It was a key win," said Drosos.

Some of the lightweight competitors won major decisions, earning the team four points per each victory instead of the usually allotted three.

Harvard needed every point in the heavier weight class matches, the strength of the Tiger team.

While Princeton won the last five matches of the meet, it was unable to close the gap opened by the lighter wrestlers. When the mats were finally cleared, the Crimson was still on top.

Still, the efforts of the Crimson heavyweights did not go unnoticed.

Drosos, normally an 177-pounder, was forced to compete in the 190-pound class because of an earlier injury to a teammate. And in wrestling, where every pound counts, competing against a guy almost 15 pounds heavier is like going head to head with an 18-wheeler.

Drosos took his Tiger into overtime, but ended up on the short end of the final whistle.

He defeated both 190-pounders from James Madison and Lycoming, though--both in overtime.

"[Drosos] keeps improving all the time," Fronhofer said.

The same can be said of the entire Crimson team. Now, with a win under their belts, Harvard is poised and ready to tackle the Ivy's best next week in a meet with Cornell, Brown, and Columbia.

They will now begin the quest for another win, one which should not prove to be as elusive as the first.