Wrestling Squad Seeks 3 Triumphs Here Saturday

Six wins and no losses. Pretty impressive achievement. How about including a triumph over a perennial nemesis in that total? What if we added the prospect of three more quick wins? Most coaches would be ecstatic over a record like that.

Not Harvard wrestling's Johnny Lee. The veteran skipper has been around too long to let early-season victories lull him into a false sense of security.

This year his grapplers began their schedule in fine style as they defeated crosstown rival Boston University by a single point. In that same triangular match, they trounced Plymouth State and since then have beaten four other opponents by healthy margins.

Lee is looking forward to continuing that streak tomorrow night when the Crimson tackles the University of Lowell, the Cost Guard, and MIT on the Engineers' home mats. "We should win all three," Lee said.

So why isn't Lee slapping himself and his grapplers on the back? Because just last year, they were 9-0-1 at roughly this point in the season and they went on to complete a disappointing season at 11-7-1, losing mostly to Ivy League opponents.

This year, the Crimson coach sees Cornell, Princeton, and defending Ivy champ Columbia as the teams to beat. "Columbia has a balanced team; all we can do is hope for some injuries," he said.

The Harvard grapplers will get a chance to prove their true mettle on January 30 when they face Cornell and again the next day when they host Columbia.