The weekend's conclusion brings a clean slate for the Harvard wrestling team as it finishes one chapter of its season and gets set to write another.

After a disappointing loss to Brown (9-10, 3-2 Ivy) on Friday night, the Crimson grapplers returned with a vengeance on Saturday, trouncing B.U. (6-7, 2-5 EIWA), and ending what has been a tough month of dual meets for the Crimson (8-6, 3-2 Ivy). BROWN  22 HARVARD  13 BOSTON U.  12 HARVARD  28

And although the season's record has no official bearing on the upcoming Eastern championships, the grapplers can draw from the lessons of February and enter the tournament with a thirst for revenge and a confidence that they can hold their own against anyone.

In a match similar to the bouts against Penn and Cornell, the Crimson had some great performances but was still unable to overtake Brown, falling to the Bears 22-13.

"I am disappointed," said Harvard Coach Jay Weiss. "I think we are the better team but they came to wrestle and we didn't."

After some tough matches early on, the Crimson tri-captains Dustin DeNunzio and Joel Friedman-ranked No. 7 and No. 11 in their respective weight classes--turned up the heat with back-to-back victories at 141 and 149-pounds that pulled the Crimson within one point of the Bears.

Although both matches remained scoreless for most of the first period, DeNunzio and Friedman quickly asserted control, dominating by the second period to earn matching 4-3 wins.

"He [Brown's Ernest DeLeon] wrestled pretty aggressively," Denunzio said. "Hopefully next time it will be a bigger gap."

Friedman was able to secure a victory despite wrestling with a mild concussion.

Junior Kevin Kurtz, ranked No. 14 in the nation, was again a highlight for Harvard, dismantling Jesse Savage 9-0. After a takedown at the end of the first period--which put him up 2-0--Kurtz simply exploded on the mat and sailed to a victory that put the Crimson up 10-7.

However, the Crimson then faced some difficult matches, especially at 181-pounds where junior tri-captain Fran Volpe lost a thrilling overtime battle, 1-3 to Nate Burroughs--who is ranked No. 17 in the nation.

With the team down by six, sophomore standout Brad Soltis came up with another spectacular performance against Zdravko Divjak in the 197-pound weight class. Going up 4-2 in the first period, Soltis continued to gain momentum as the match progressed, eventually winning 10-6.

"It was a tough bout. His shoulder came out twice during the match but he was still looking for a major decision so he could get more team points," said Coach Weiss. "He is really peaking at the right time."

Although three points separated the Crimson from the Bears with one match remaining, about 40 pounds separated Brown's heavyweight from freshman Dawid Rechul, giving the Bears a huge advantage. Rechul gave Brown's Bronson Lingamfelter a run for his money, keeping the first period scoreless. But despite a valiant effort, Rechul was could not hold on and was pinned with eight seconds left in the second period.

Saturday night proved far better for the Crimson, as they easily steamrolled B.U. 28-12, ending its home finale on a positive note. DeNunzio (141-pounds) and Friedman (149-pounds) capped off four stellar years of wrestling, winning their final matches at the Malkin Athletic Center.

"It was really weird to think that it would be my last time wrestling at the MAC since it's been such a long time," DeNunzio said.