PENN 27, HARVARD 17

The drive from Cambridge to Philadelphia winds past oil refineries, tollbooths, and roadside Subways. The six-hour journey feels like it takes six hours.

This past weekend, though, a glimmer of hope brightened the road. On Jan. 28, Harvard had lost to Cornell, 33-11—an expected result that nonetheless stood out because of three individual victories.

The dual contest at Penn offered a chance to leverage any momentum. Sitting at 1-4 in the EIVA, the Quakers seemed vulnerable for a defeat.

That defeat never came. Harvard took a 6-0 lead after Ladnier pinned his opponent, but five straight wins by Penn (4-6, 1-2) swung the match beyond the Crimson’s control.

Although Goldman claimed a 16-1 win by technical fall and Gajdzik took a 6-1 decision, Harvard never climbed back. Final score: Quakers 27, Crimson 17.

The prolonged losing streak started with the freshman Dean, who lost by fall. Next came Bearse, Johnson, and Dean, who combined for three pints. Kirby, who also lost by fall, rounded out the tough stretch.

Gajdzik, Goldman, and Jaffe—who claimed a 10-3 decision—kept the score close in later matches. But a major-decision lost by Sakmar put the result out of reach.

“We’re looking to improve,” Ott said. “We do a good job keeping things in perspective and knowing that what you judge a successful or an unsuccessful season by is really in the postseason.”

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com.