When freshman Joel Friedman was deciding whether or not to come to Harvard and wrestle for the Crimson, he had one major concern.

"I was hoping that this was the kind of team where everyone worked hard and pushed themselves," Friedman said. "That didn't turn out to be a problem."

Indeed, the Harvard wrestling team trained like madmen, often supplementing its two hour-a-day practices with additional lifting and running sessions.

"As a team, most of us work very hard," Friedman said. "Our coach [Jay Weiss] set the tone right from the beginning."

Unfortunately, the team's record was not indicative of the amount of work it put in. The Crimson finished 2-12 on the season, which won't win any awards. However, the future of Harvard wrestling is extremely bright. This year's crop of freshmen proved to be as outstanding a group as can be found anywhere in the conference.

"We have five Academic All-Americans in our class," Friedman said. "And two of us placed at Easterns, the qualifier for the NCAA tournament."

Those two were the 134-pound Friedman and the 126-pound Dustin Denunzio. While neither grappler qualified for the NCAA's, both placed sixth, and only one other freshman in the conference placed in the qualifier.

Filling out the list of outstanding freshmen wrestlers are Adam Griesmer, James Butera, Gaddy Soffer and the versatile Hollis Waite, who wrestled in several weight classes for the Crimson.

Denunzio proved to be the most consistently successful of this standout group. He compiled a record of 28-11, and was named second team All-Ivy, as well as Ivy League Rookie of the Year.

The freshman class could not have developed as successfully were it not for a corps of experienced veterans to guide them along the way. Senior captains Todd Davis and Khris Reina both performed admirably all season long for the Crimson.

At the Sunshine Open tournament in Florida, Reina and Denunzio placed fourth, and Friedman won several matches.

Though it a disappointing season in terms of wins and losses for the Crimson grapplers, the future looks remarkably bright. Do not be surprised if this team is contending for a league title in a couple of years. If this happens, all of their hard work would pay off.

"If we won a championship, that would be amazing," Waite said. "All the extra effort we put in would be worth it. That would be the best."

For the Crimson, it is clear that the best is yet to come.