Such support and spirit culminated at Saturday night's big meet against Penn.Although the score was 21-9, it does not reflectthe true competitiveness of the meet. With adouble overtime, an overtime and three one-pointwins, the Quakers were definitely put to the test.

Among the Harvard triumphs was Butera'sthrilling 6-4 win, sweet revenge on an opponentwho had beaten him in previous meetings. Thisopened up the meet and set the tone for the closerace which was to follow.

Tri-captain Dustin DeNunzio's was victoriousover Mark Piotrowsky in the 134-pound weightclass. Ranked No. 4 nationally in his class,DeNunzio eventually overpowered No. 14-ranked MarkPiotrowsky with a 3-2 win. In the 158-pound class,sophomore Joe Killar (ranked no. 15) stepped upand handed his opponent a 6-4 loss.

Although these were the only official wins, theother matches were as close as they come.Tri-captain Ed Mosley lost a 5-6 heartbreaker toBrandon Slay in a sudden-death double overtime.Mosley is ranked 14th in the 167-pound weightclass while Slay is ranked second.

It was a dramatic match, one that did notproduce a winner even after two additional minutesof overtime. It was only in double overtime, whereSlay won the toss and chose his position, that thematch was decided.

The next three matches were also tight, withHarvard's Anderson, Volpe and senior Rob Durbinwrestling one weight class higher than their own.

"Everybody wrestled really well," said Volpe,who lost 4-6 after a valiant struggle thatcontinued into overtime.

"Also, it was great to see all the fan support.Hopefully it will continue in the future."

Losing in extremely close matches, Picarsic,Kiler and Kurtz showed the promise of this futureCrimson team.

Such impressive performances did not escape theattention of Penn Coach Roger Reina or of thosepacked into the bleachers.

"I was very proud of our team," Reina said. "Itwas a very competitive dual meet. This is thelargest crowed I've seen at Harvard forwrestling."

"I'm disappointed, but there were manyinspiring matches," said Harvard Coach Jay Weiss."The kids wrestled with a lot of heart. It is partof the journey, and we walk away learning a lot."

Butera was especially proud of the teamsperformance in his final dual meet against Penn.

"We did a great job. The team has come a longway," he said. "It is a closeknit bunch of guysand Coach Weiss is fantastic. He is the backbone,not just in terms of wrestling, but in buildingpersonality and character."

With three wins and a close loss to a rankedopponent, this weekend displayed the strength ofthat character