As far as Harvard wrestling coach John Lee can tell, the frustration is over. His struggling squad closed out its most arduous season last weekend by placing tenth in the Easterns. The team also finished sixth in the Ivy League and compiled an unimpressive 5-11 dual meet record.

"Wait until next year," Lee said earlier this month. "A winning season will really be in reach." He said several grapplers on this year's team showed "substantial improvement" late in the year. "Too bad the improvement came too late to salvage the season." he said. "At least there's promise for next year."

Lee hopes to bolster his squad with an army of new recruits who will get a taste of varsity-level wrestling as freshmen. Lee has submitted the names of about 30 prospective freshmen wrestlers to the Admissions Office.

Throughout this season, he has invited some of the 30 wrestlers to observe the varsity in action. But with the exception of able grapplers Richie Starr, Dan Blakinger, Carl Biello and Jim Strathmeyer, the Crimson was not the most impressive team to watch.

"I hope our losing didn't turn any of the applicants away," Lee said. He reasoned, however, that losing most of the matches this year might have been attractive to the high school wrestlers. "If they figure they won't be sitting on the bench and could possibly be wrestling varsity in their first year, they might be persuaded to pick Harvard over big time wrestling schools like lowa State, Oklahoma or even Lehigh and Penn State," he added.

"Of course if the kids decide to come to Harvard, I hope they don't come just to wrestle or to gain lots of personal glory," he added. "Wrestlers who really seek national prominence don't belong here."

Lee said that recruiting within the bounds of Harvard Department of Athletics policy "is like waiting for Raquel Welch to knock on your front door." The policy forbids coaches from approaching athletes until the athletes notify the Admissions Office of their interest in Harvard.

The policy is not the most satisfactory one, Lee said. "But I'm sure not going to compete with Oklahoma and Iowa State. They're so pro-wrestling, they'll do anything to get a candidate."

Still, Lee is unhappy that no one helps him recruit wrestlers for Harvard. He said he gets no aid from the alumni. "It's all a one-man job," he said. "I talk to the candidates, evalutate their wrestling ability and try to find guys with the right combination of SATs and weights."

The final list of 30 applicants submitted to the Admissions Office included Lee's endorsements and comments on each grappler. "There's a good crop of kids applying now," he said. "I'm really looking forward to next season. It shouldn't be as frustrating as this past one."