The varsity wrestling team rolled to an easy 27-9 triumph over Brown last night at Providence to move one step closer to a duel for second place with Princeton next week.

The Crimson were not terribly inspired in this meet since Brown has only won one Ivy League contest, but Pat Coleman and captain Howie Chatterton turned in excellent performances in recording impressive victories.

Harvard jumped to a quick lead as 123-pound Tom Schnorr pinned his opponent in 1:23, but Brown's Bob Davidson earned his team three points by edging Bruce Goodman, 3-2. Harvard coach John Lee feels that Davidson is probably the Bruins' best wrestler.

Lead Increased

The Crimson lead increased to 11-3 as Paul Catinella and Coleman notched decisions. Coleman's win was by a 9-0 score, as he continued to be one of the best performers for the Crimson.

Brown narrowed the lead again as Bill Buttrill shut out Mike Slutzker, 4-0. At 160, Mark Faller collected three more points for Harvard by beating Carl Nathan, whom Lee enthusiastically considers "not bad."

Brown's hopes for victory, however meager, became dimmer as the powerful Crimson heavyweights prepared to wrestle. Chatterton, still undefeated, disposed of Dave Gottert, 14-4, nearly pinning him. This convincing win demonstrated Chatterton's improvement--last year Chattertson battled to a 3-2 decision over Gottert.

The Bruins' Bob Christin managed to outpoint John Imrie, 5-3, so that Brown was not yet eliminated. Brown, however, was eliminated a few minutes later as Crimson 191-pounder Bob Panoff scored a fall at 4:18. The Bruins' chance for some last-minute glory was ruined by Harvard's Tom Tripp, who pinned his opponent in the heavyweight bout.

In the freshman meet, a pin by Brown's heavyweight wrestler gave the Bruins a 22-16 win over the Yardlings.