A courageous performance by captain Fred Pereira and encouraging showings on the part of two young wrestlers highlighted the Crimson's seventh-place finish in the annual Coast Guard Academy Wrestling Tournament in New London this weekend.

Pereira was riding a Wesleyan opponent in his first match when his rival suddenly jerked his head upwards. The blow split Pereira's chin. A few minutes and seven stitches later, doctors advised the Crimson captain to withdraw from the tournament.

But Pereira agreed with coach Bob Pickett that he should continue; he went on to wrestle his way into the finals of the 167-pound class before losing to Navy's Eastern champion Peter Carey on a 4-1 decision. His second-place finish was the best achieved by a Crimson wrestler in the meet.

Durfee Places Third

Almost as good was the third-place showing of 137-pounder Howard Durfee, a stylish sophomore who won his first three matches before bowing to two experienced opponents.

Navy's veterans came in first in the tournament, right on schedule. Syracuse and Maryland, both national powers, trailed the Midshipmen.

Northern Illinois, coast Guard, Wesleyan and Harvard were within a few points of each other for fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh places. The only other Ivy League school entered, Brown, trailed far behind and showed virtualy nothing.

Pereira Praises Durfee, Chace

Pereira singled out Durfee and heavyweight Tack Chace for praise for their tournament performances. Chace won two matches and dropped two, failing to place because of a bad draw.

The only other Crimson wrestler to earn a place was 123-pounder Peter Keeler, who finished fourth in his division.

In fact, Harvard's lightweight wrestlers looked extremely impressive. In addition to Keeler and Durfee, 130-pounder Mike King wrestled well before suffering a painful shoulder injury that may keep him out of action for a while.

Brian Conley, sophomore 147-pounder, had an unusually bad day, winning one match and losing two. Conley had not previously been beaten in nine freshman matches or one varsity bout.

Kevin McMahon, wrestling at 152, won a match and lost a pair. 157-pounder Jan Bollinger was the only Crimson matman to be shut out--he dropped two straight matches.

At 177, Ben Brooks, wrestling for the first time this season, won his first match before bowing in two.

This Saturday's match with Franklin and Marshall--the last for the matmen before the Christmas holidays--should be a good indication of how will the Crimson will fare in league matches that begin in January.

Last year, F and M eked out a 15-14 win over Harvard. With veteran 191-pounder Bob Fastov swinging into action--there was no 191-pound match at the tournament or in Harvard's first meet with M.I.T.--and with letterman Jack Mamana filling the big hole at 157 pounds, Harvard has to be favored in the meet. If they win decisively, the Crimson might go on to be a strong contender for the Ivy League title, monopolized by Cornell for years