Sometimes improvement is not enough. Just ask the Harvard wrestling team. Last year, the grapplers got mauled by Springfield, 28-9, but this time around Harvard has a better team.

So the Crimson went up against Springfield again in last week's season opener, and the improvement showed. Going into the final bout, the score was tied. But when it was all over, Harvard's Kip Smith had been pinned in that final contest, and Harvard had lost. Closer than last year, yes, but still a loss.

"We've got a much better team this year than we've had around here recently," Harvard coach Johnny Lee said last night, "but the beginning of the schedule is tough."

The battle against powerful early-season foes continues today at the IAB when the Crimson matmen collide with Hofstra, Boston University and Southern Connecticut.

Against Hofstra, at least, improvement may again not be enough. Last year, the Flying Dutchmen flew circles around Lee's charges, 38-6, with Jim Corcoran's last-second pin accounting for the only Harvard points.

Last weekend, Hofstra played Iowa close, 23-13. All Iowa has managed to do in the last two years is win back-to-back NCAA titles. Harvard's just not at that level, and does not play the kind of teams that the Dutchmen will bump heads with later this season, powerhouses like Iowa State and Oklahoma State.

"We could play those teams," Lee said, "but defeat, shall we say, would beckon quickly."

Fortunately, improvement over last year may be enough to give Harvard victories against today's other two adversaries. The B.U. Terriers knocked off the Crimson last winter, 27-13, by winning six of the first eight bouts and tying the other two.

Southern Connecticut is an unknown quantity. The Owis won the NCAA Division II gymnastics title last year after a period of vigorous recruitment, and apparently they have put the same effort into grappling lately, putting together a huge 60-man roster.

Lee feels optimistic about his chances against the Terriers and the Owls, and because his charges meet Hofstra in the final meet of the arduous afternoon, he hopes that the Dutchmen will be tired and ripe for an upset.

The loss of Bob Cusumano (142 lbs.), out with a bad knee, doesn't help Harvard's chances, however.

Regardless of today's outcome, the Crimson matmen can keep in mind that they will have passed the major hurdles of the season after only two dates.

Only an uphill fight against Princeton and even-money toss-ups against Yale and Columbia await Harvard as it charges through the rest of this winter's schedule