In their first quad-meet of the season, the grapplers fell to a strong New Hampshire squad, but edged Worcester Polytechnic Institute and breezed through New York University. As a result of its performance, the Crimson evened its record to 3-3.
"The meet went surprisingly well," Co-Captain Pete Holmes said. "After losing to WPI for the last two years, it was nice to knock them off. We knew that UNH was going to beat us and that we were going to beat NYU."
The afternoon opened auspiciously with a welcome victory over the Engineers from Worcester. After falling behind to an early 16-3 deficit, the Crimson scored 20 unanswered points in the final five matches.
Alex Konovalchik, at 190 Ibs., delivered the mortal blow with a pin 59 seconds into the first period. Other clutch winners were John Freeman at 158, Holmes at 167, John Willoughby at 177, and Tony Consigli in the heavyweight match. Todd Cameron picked up three points for the Crimson with a decision in the 118-Ibs. class.
The rest of the meet was anticlimactic for the matsmen. UNH, paced by three pins and eight wins overall, ran up the score to an unattractive 38-5.
Harvard highlights against the Wildcats included Konovalchik's 9-3 decision, Harvard's only victory of the match. Sophomore Tim Kierstead scored a late takedown to salvage a 2-2 tie.
"UNH just has more depth, more balance, and more athletic talent," said Coach Jim Peckham. "They have great depth in every weight class."
And
The grapplers avenged their loss by pruning the NYU Violets, 32-12. Tony Consigli sealed the victory with a pin at 57 seconds in the first period. Other winners include Willoughby, Holmes, Freeman, Mark Vandermyde at 167 Ibs., John Liu at 126, and Cameron.
Peckham was encouraged by the performance of both Konovalchik and Consigli, both recent additions to the roster. Before their arrival to the team last week, the matsmen either forfeited the 190-Ib. and heavyweight matches or substituted wrestlers from lower weight classes.
"Its like having dinner without salad or a main course," Peckham said of the grapplers' earlier situation. "These guys now will be our meat and potatoes."