"We are getting closer to our peak," Picarsic said. "We're not there yet but we are coming along. We are building up for the end. There are minor setbacks but the ultimate goal is still the same."

"EIWA is our time to shine," said sophomore Dawid Rechul. "With our lineup, we do better in tournaments than in dual meets."

Despite the loss, Friday night involved an exciting meet of back-and-forth scoring between the two foes. The Crimson began the night with two close losses against nationally-ranked Big Red wrestlers.

At heavyweight, sophomore Dawid Rechul fell in a tight 5-3 bout to No. 10 Seth Charles who is also No. 3 in the EIWA.

Sophomore Brandon Rhoades had a terrific match against Aaron Taylor, ranked No. 20 nationally and third in the EIWA, at 125-pounds. A stalling point sent the match into overtime and Taylor was able to sneak away with a 6-4 win.

The first points for the Crimson came from Matt Picarsic, who ignited Harvard with an impressive 10-4 victory over Sean Doyle. At 149-pounds, freshman sensation Max Odom added to this with his 7-4 win against Alex Berman.

"Matt is really turning it on, which I am very pleased about," Weiss said. "Max is definitely coming into his own. He can do some real damage at the national level."