Wrestling Falls to Penn

After losing to Penn, 25-11, on Saturday, the Harvard wrestling team concluded a weekend road trip by soundly defeating Princeton and Franklin and Marshall on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson downed the Tigers, 37-6, and had a similarly easy time against Franklin and Marshall, 36-7.

Penn, the second-ranked team in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, never looked back after Mike Faust's opening round upset of Crimson junior heavyweight Dawid Rechul.

Rechul, the top-ranked heavyweight in the EIWA, entered a sudden-victory overtime session tied with Faust, 3-3, Just before the buzzer sounded, Faust rolled out from the bottom position for a two-point reversal to win.

Penn proceeded to win in seven of the 10 weight classes. Sophomore Max Odom held Penn's Yoshu Makamura, the third-ranked 157-pounder in the country, to a 0-0 stalemate through one period before Makamura eventually prevailed, 10-4.

The Crimson did manage several impressive individual accomplishments in the midst of their team loss. Freshman Jesse Jantzen, who had been plagued by injuries for much of the pre-EIWA schedule, upset Penn's Joe Henson on the strength of a nine-point third period. Henson had been ranked a spot above Jantzen at 149 lbs.

Co-captain Matt Picarsic garnered a decisive 9-0 victory over Penn's Jeff Eveleth in a contest between the No. 2 and 3 133-pounders in the league.

The Crimson's next three dual meets will take place at the Malkin Athletic Center this weekend, as Harvard hosts Columbia on Friday night and Cornell and Boston College on Saturday.