Injury-Depleted Lineup Can’t Hang with Ivy Foes

It’s tough to win a match if you’re not on the mat.

The carousel of injuries that has hampered the Harvard wrestling team all season proved to be the deciding factor again this weekend, as the Crimson fell to Princeton and Penn in a set of Saturday dual meets at the MAC. Even worse for the home team, though, was that the Harvard (2-10-1, 0-2 Ivy) grapplers’ usual spark and resilience seemed to be missing against the Crimson’s Ivy foes.

“We just didn’t wrestle well,” Harvard coach Jay Weiss said. “We’ve just got to get out and fight, we’ve got to fight more, that’s all it was. It’s a matter of fighting positions.”

Weiss noted that Crimson grapplers consistently found themselves out of place, making them vulnerable to falls. The ability of the Tigers and Quakers to put up big wins led to lopsided scores—with Princeton winning 35-10 and Penn dominating 41-11.

“I felt like we were a little lackluster today,” co-captain Louis Caputo said. “We just want guys to stay in good position...I think a big weakness is our bottom wrestling. We’re giving up a lot of team points from that, [from] getting pinned.”

PENN 41, HARVARD 11

The fate of the Crimson’s Saturday afternoon match became clear in the first bout against Penn (8-4, 2-0). Freshman Steven Keith (125 lbs.)—one of Harvard’s standout performers so far this year—was overwhelmed in his second contest of the day.

The Quakers’ Mark Rappo sprung from a headlock to earn an early takedown and would not relent. Rappo negated Keith’s tremendous escapability by consistenly corralling the young grappler. Each time Keith got his legs under him, Rappo would keep hold of his opponent’s foot. When Keith finally did break free, the Penn standout earned two more takedowns and a five-second pin, pushing the bout out of reach. Rappo finished with a major decision to put the Quakers on top for good.

“Steven had a tough couple matches,” Weiss said. “But he’s going to be fine. I know he’s going to turn it around and come right back.”

Unfortunately for the Crimson, the rest of the lineup did not inspire as much confidence.

Rookie Chad Eason (125) again wrestled above his weight class, suffering a fall to Bryan Ortenzio in just 38 seconds. Three other Harvard grapplers faced defeat in the same manner, as Penn demonstrated why four of its nine competitors are ranked in the top 20.

But the Crimson’s ranked grapplers did not seem intimidated. The Quakers refused to trot out a wrestler against co-captain and top-ranked J.P. O’Connor (157), leaving No. 6 Caputo to vent his frustration at the team’s struggles. The Crimson standout, who moved to 15-2 on the day, dominated his bout from start to finish—a stark contrast to the rest of the squad’s performance.

Penn’s Harrison Cook opened the bout aggressively, attacking Caputo’s legs and bringing him to the ground, but it was the Harvard competitor who wound up on top, earning two points with his quick feet. From that point Caputo did not relent. The grappler forced Cook into back-to-back pins to close out the period and easily escaped at the start of the second to push his lead to 9-0. The two wrestlers did not spend much time in neutral position, though, as the Crimson co-captain notched another takedown and transitioned into a pin to extend the advantage to 14. As Cook struggled to escape, Caputo closed out the match with a final pin, logging a 17-0 technical fall to bring his winning streak to nine straight matches.

“I felt good,” Caputo said. “These guys came out ready to bang, but I was feeling a lot better than I was last week. I was pretty happy with my performance.”

PRINCETON 35, HARVARD 10

The co-captains could be satisfied with their morning effort as well, as both extended their hot streaks against the Tigers (6-8, 2-0). The match once again spiraled out of control early, as Princeton notched two falls in the first two matches. Coupled with a forfeit at 141 pounds and a major decision against rookie Paul Ligori in his return from an ankle injury, Harvard found itself down 22-0 before O’Connor took the mat. Undeterred, the co-captain continued his march towards the top of the Crimson’s all-time wins list with a strong showing. No. 1 O’Connor racked up 14 points against the Tigers’ Dan Scotton and proved that he remains difficult to score on, as the co-captain cruised to a 14-0 major decision.

Coupled with his forfeit win later in the day, the effort moved O’Connor to 22-0 on the season and 119-16 for his career.

Caputo also started the day solidly, earning a 6-1 decision against Kurt Brendel, but the most encouraging sign for Harvard came in the heavyweight division. Sophomore Spencer DeSena—competing for the first time this month—posted a dominant 7-0 win to earn the Crimson’s only win from a non-captain on the weekend. If the squad hopes to compete more effectively as a team, it will need such performances from less experienced grapplers as it advances through the Ivy slate.

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.