The Harvard wrestling team, coming off an 0-3 performance last weekend, fared little better in its 28-10 loss to Columbia yesterday afternoon at the Malkin Athletic Center. Columbia  28 Harvard  10

The Crimson (2-8 overall, 0-3 Ivy) was able to roar right along with the Lions through the first six bouts as the teams went into the 167-pound match deadlocked at 10-10.

From there, however, Columbia took command by winning the final four bouts--including two by pin at 177 pounds and 190 pounds.

"We knew it was going to be tough," coach Jay Weiss said. "Columbia's tough squad."

The meet got off to an inauspicious start when junior Craig Vitagliano, who was coming off a shoulder injury, lost an overtime decision at 118 pounds.

"It was my first time wrestling competitively in a month," Vitagliano said. "I felt a little sluggish."

The Crimson wasn't down for long as freshman Dustin DeNunzio knotted the score at 3-3 with a hard-fought 4-3 win in the 126-pound bout.

"That was really a big match," Weiss said. "[Dustin] was facing a tough opponent."

The Lions reclaimed the lead with a major decision at 134 pounds when Columbia's Todd Gilmore beat Crimson freshman Joel Friedman, 12-2.

Harvard fell further behind (10-3) when freshman Adam Griesemer lost his bout at 142 pounds.

"Adam out-wrestled his opponent overall," Weiss said. "He just made a couple of freshman mistakes, and that was the difference."

Tri-captain Khris Reina and junior Steve Gerstung brought the Crimson back into the meet with wins at the 150-pound and 158-pound divisions, respectively. Gerstung, whose take-down with five seconds left in the bout secured a major decision for the Crimson, scored the final team points on the day for Harvard and tied the meet score at 10-10.

"Steve's been wrestling very well," Weiss said. "He's going to have a big match against B.U. tomorrow."

The Crimson's performance--although it left the squad well short of a win--was a step in the right direction after last weekend's poor showing at Pennsylvania and Princeton.

"We wrestled well as a team," Weiss said. "We won three bouts and were overall better than we were last weekend."

The road for the Crimson doesn't get any easier, however, as it faces off today in a quad-meet against UMass-Lowell, B.U. and Cornell.

While the Crimson soundly defeated UMass-Lowell last season, the River Hawks are stronger this year and figure to give the Crimson a better account of itself.

Cornell shut out the Crimson 40-0 last season, and its team has six starters who were ranked in the top six of their respective weight classes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) pre-season poll.

Vitagliano, however, is confident Harvard can avoid another blanking.

"We'll be able to win a couple of matches in the lower weight classes," Vitagliano said.

The B.U. squad also figures to be more than the Crimson can handle. The Terriers feature the number-one ranked wrestler in the nation at 158 pounds. While the outlook for today's meet is grim, the squad had taken considerable strides in establishing a strong nucleus of young wrestlers.

"We're really setting the tone for a couple of years down the line," Weiss said.

Hopefully for the Crimson, it'll be worth the wait.