Harvard hasn't a prayer of finishing any better than respectably in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Tournament at Cornell today, but at least the Crimson has one wrestler who can be mentioned without embarrassment as a serious contender in his weight class.

Harvard's white hope in Ed Franquemont, the mild-appearing sophomore whose 8-1-1 record this season was the best on the squad. Franquefont is entered in the 147-pound class, ten pounds below the weight that he wrestled for most of the year. The favorite in the class should be Mark Scureman of Army, runnerup in last year's Easterns at 137.

Beyond Franquemont, the Harvard squad will probably not create much of a stir. Captain Ben Brooks at 191 and Howie Durfee at 137 are good wrestlers for the Ivy League, but they have little chance to upset the machines from powers like Lehigh, Penn State, and Syracuse. Howie Henjyoji at 123, Tom Gilmore at 130, and Tack Chace at heavy-weight all have had disappointing seasons, despite glimmers of brilliance.

Last year Harvard scored an ignominious 7 points in the tournament as only Brooks and Chace survived their first-round matches. Lehigh edged Pitt for the championship 58-57, and the nearest Ivy team was Cornell, in seventh place with 37 points.

This year Lehigh is again the favorite, but Syracuse, Army, Navy, and Penn State will all seriously challenge the Engineers. The heavyweight division is likely to attract the most attention.