Wrestling Splits Meets With Columbia, Cornell on Road

There is no doubt that wrestling is a big sport at Cornell. Ranked No. 15 in the NCAA, No. 3 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) and boasting four nationally-ranked wrestlers, it is one of the nation's top programs.

Yet there is also no doubt that things got a little too close for comfort for the Big Red (9-4, 3-1 Ivy) on Friday night, when the Crimson (6-5, 2-2 Ivy) came to town.

The Harvard squad proved a formidable foe, battling to within two points before eventually falling 20-12. Propelled by several strong individual battles on the mat, the Crimson came close to the upset but left Ithaca unable to seal the victory.

"It is frustrating because we are every bit as good if not better than these teams," said junior Matt Picarsic.

However, on Saturday the Crimson got the victory that eluded them the night before as they visited Columbia and pounced the Lions, 37-6. In a meet of pure domination, Harvard's superiority included a technical fall, three consecutive pins, and two major decision defeats.

"I was concerned about Saturday with the team coming off a tough loss and with the long trip from Ithaca that morning," said Harvard Coach Jay Weiss. "But the meet showed a lot about the resiliency of the team."

Friday night against Cornell marked the last of an extremely tough string of competitors the Crimson has faced in the past month, including Lehigh and Penn, also Top Twenty teams in the NCAA. And much like its experience with those two teams, the Crimson's meet with Cornell showed a Harvard squad of enormous talent and potential that has threatened to upset but has been unable to come away with the win.

Yet the Crimson will have another chance to face them all again in what is the most important tournament of the season. The Crimson hopes to capitalize on the lessons of these meets and use them as a springboard for the upcoming EIWA tournament, the qualifying tournament for the NCAA.

"We are getting closer to our peak," Picarsic said. "We're not there yet but we are coming along. We are building up for the end. There are minor setbacks but the ultimate goal is still the same."

"EIWA is our time to shine," said sophomore Dawid Rechul. "With our lineup, we do better in tournaments than in dual meets."

Despite the loss, Friday night involved an exciting meet of back-and-forth scoring between the two foes. The Crimson began the night with two close losses against nationally-ranked Big Red wrestlers.

At heavyweight, sophomore Dawid Rechul fell in a tight 5-3 bout to No. 10 Seth Charles who is also No. 3 in the EIWA.

Sophomore Brandon Rhoades had a terrific match against Aaron Taylor, ranked No. 20 nationally and third in the EIWA, at 125-pounds. A stalling point sent the match into overtime and Taylor was able to sneak away with a 6-4 win.

The first points for the Crimson came from Matt Picarsic, who ignited Harvard with an impressive 10-4 victory over Sean Doyle. At 149-pounds, freshman sensation Max Odom added to this with his 7-4 win against Alex Berman.

"Matt is really turning it on, which I am very pleased about," Weiss said. "Max is definitely coming into his own. He can do some real damage at the national level."

Wrestling without senior co-captain Ed Mosley (174-pounds), who was injured in last week's match against Rick Springman from Penn, the Crimson was forced to bump up two of its wrestlers to accommodate for Mosley's absence.

However, such a change did not seem to bother senior Kevin Kurtz or senior co-captain Joey Killar, both of whom still had to weigh in at their usual weights of 157-pounds and 165-pounds, respectively. At 165-pounds, Kurtz turned in a great performance, outwrestling John Fogarty through overtime and emerging with a 3-1 win.

Killar, who is No. 5 nationally in the 165-pound weight class, had little trouble handling Jim Stanec, grappling to an 8-2 win.

"I can't say enough about these guys," Weiss said. "They will do anything for the team. Joey looked great and Kevin wrestled a very smart bout."

Despite a strong effort at 184-pounds, freshman standout Reggie Lee lost a tight 5-3 battle to Joe Tucceri, who is ranked No. 16 in the 174-pound weight class but was bumped up a weight class for this meet.

This alternating scoring and tight bouts that characterized Friday proved very different from Saturday's meet.

The Crimson came in and took care of business in every aspect, easily cruising over the Lions. At 125-pounds, freshman David Germakian had a strong match, losing a heated battle 3-1 in overtime. At 133-pounds, Matt Picarsic had a commanding 10-1 major decision victory, followed by a solid 4-1 by Nick Picarsic at 141-pounds.

In the 149-weight class, Odom simply dismantled his opponent, earning a technical fall 6:47 into the match.

The senior core of the team then displayed their might as the Harvard wrestlers pinned the next three Columbia wrestlers. At 157-pounds, Tom Kiler took down his opponent in 2:36. Kurtz, at 165-pounds scored his pin in 2:13, while Killar, wrestling again in Mosley's 174-pound class, took down his foe in just 0:52.

At 184-pounds, Lee posted a 6-2 victory while Rechul rounded out the scoring at heavyweight with a dominating 12-2 major decision win.

"We needed the meet [against Columbia] to bounce back from our loss," Rechul said.

The Crimson now enters the most intense part of its training as it sets its sights on the approaching EIWA tournament.

Harvard will face its last set of dual meets this weekend as they wrestle away at Brown on Friday and Boston University on Saturday. Though not ranked as high as other teams the Crimson has faced in the past couple of weeks, Brown is a strong team that upset Harvard last season. The Crimson also has even more incentive for a win, as Coach Weiss worked as an assistant coach there before coming to Cambridge.

"We match-up pretty well with Brown," said Picarsic. "It is a good last weekend of matches to have going into EIWAs."