Late Saturday afternoon a Yale admissions officer took a five minute respite from the arduous task of selecting freshmen who couldn't go to Harvard and turned his mind to the athletic progress of this year's freshmen. He was astounded.
So far this year the Bullpups have clearly outclassed the Yardlings, winning five of nine contests and tying two others. The only Crimson teams that have been able to top the Elis are track and fencing.
In contrast, last year's Harvard freshmen conquered the Yalies in everything but lacrosse and golf.
Four contests against Yale last weekend didn't help matters much. Aside from the fencers' 15-12 victory, the Bullpups took them all, triumphing 63-31 over the swimming team, 5-2 over the hockey team, and 16-14 over the wrestlers.
"Easy Victory"
Actually, the wrestlers' close defeat should have been an easy victory. The Crimson would have coasted home to a win if undefeated Chris Wickens (177) hadn't broken his ankle during the first period of his match.
Wickens was attempting a routine take-down when he caught his foot on the mat and sustained the fracture. His default cost the Crimson five almost certain points and victory.
The swimmers also were supposed to put up a strong fight against a favored Yale squad. Instead, in the first event, the 400-yard medley relay, the Ell anchor man turned in his best time of the year to lead the team home 0.8 seconds ahead of the Crimson. The upset victory set the day's tone as the Yalies captured seven of 11 firsts.
Jim Seubold, who set a new NCAA freshman record in the 200-yard freestyle against Princeton, lost that event and, in the process, his record. Yale's Keith Ahern did the distance in 1:48.3, more than a second better than Soubold's old record of 1:49.7.
Salvaging a bit of Crimson pride was Neville Hayes, who swept to customary victories in the 200-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle. Breaststroker Bob Corris set a new freshman record in the 200-yard distance with a time of 2:20.9.
Against Yale the Yardlings have consistently been unable to turn in good clutch performances. Last fall, both the Eli soccer and football teams fought from behind to tie the Crimson, and just a week ago Saturday the Yale squash squad managed a miraculous comeback to edge the Yardlings 5-4.
In Saturday's hockey game, the Crimson had held Yale to a close 21 score going into the last period. Then the Elis wrapped it up, outscoring Harvard 3-1 to claim the victory.
The cheap Yale win over the wrestlers, however, can't tarnish an otherwise successful season. Finishing at 7-2-1, they ran up a winning streak of six before losing to Springfield, the only team all year which clearly outclassed them.
The 14-14 tie with the Tigers at Princeton hinged on the fact that reguar Don Gasink (167) didn't make the trip.
Gasink, as well as Howard Henjyoji (123), captain Ed Franquemont (157), and Wickens, may add significant strength to the varsity next year. Both Henjyoji and Franquemont have lost only once this season and will get a chance to prove how good they are in a meet of East Coast freshmen at West Point next week. Gasisk will probably go also.
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