PAGE SIX
Lion Gymnast Prepares , : ©r Army Match
23s?^*^^^^
lar t ° year ‘on* £?<SL£ Sff’ST £*H?iiS S£ i?™* *““ Champi ° n -
Lion-Cadet Gym Meeting
To Decide '53 EIGA Title
Coach Gene Wettstone’s unbeaten gymnasts couldn’t- be performing in a more anti
climatic script this season even if the 16-year Lion gym veteran had taken time out to write
it himself. /
Saturday 2 p.m. will tell the tale—all in one swoop. Army comes to town, complete
with record and reputation, although its record this year shows one dual meet defeat. The loss,
Speidel Foresees No
Wrestling Changes
With a tough Army contingent invading Rec Hall this Saturday,
Coach Charlie Speidel, at the moment, does not have any plans
in changing the present Eastern Intercollegiate wrestling champion
ship lineup.
State’s mentor stated he has no intentions of “changing in mid
stream.”
The tjiggest asset that Speidel possesses is the ability of his men
to take up the necessary slack whenever State’s key men slip in
their winning endeavor. In fact, this has spelled the difference be
tween victory and defeat in the last three dual meets.
At Cornell the Nittany Lions received their first scare and strong
resistance, winning 18-10. *
Then came a potential threat in the Terrapins of Maryland. They
did carry four Southern champions and a winning streak, and were
named two-time Southern, titlists, but that wasn’t enough. Coach
Sully Krouse’s grapplers were able to stop Speidel’s key men, Jerry
Maurey and Joe Lemyre, and their excellent records. Then too,
the Terps carried the dual meet to the final bout, but to no avail.’
For Hud Samson, winning in team style, notched the win column
for the Lions with his decisive decision.
At Pitt’s Field House, the Lions received the same resistance,
but it was stronger than any State adversary could perform on the
mats this season.
Cornell, Maryland,, and Pitt were responsible for putting to an
end three excellent individual winning skeins. Homan was stopped
at nine, Maurey at ten, and Joe Lemyre also at ten. Maurey also
had one of the finest records spoiled against Maryland, that of not
being scored upon in five dual meets.
What will Army do?
That question will be answered on the mats Saturday. With
Army as powerful as any of the latter opponents, the West Pointers
will not only have to be dealt with—but cut.
A victory would do more than keep our Eastern prestige intact.
It would give State’s two-time. EIW A champions an overall record
of 218 wins, 51 losses, and nine ties in 44 years of wrestling.
Under the master-of-the-trade, Speidel, Penn State would carry
into the record books an impressive log of 128 wins against a mere
28 defeats in dual meet competition. Seven ties have occurred during
Speidel’s 27 seasons at the helm.
Last, but not least, a triumph would give the Lions the honor
of being the winningest wrestling collegiate team in history with
29 straight.
By SAM PROCOPIO
Pitt Strongest Thus Far
Army A Tough 'Deal'
TFTF DAILY COLLEGIA N STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA
By GEORGE BAIREY
at the hands of Eastern foe Syra
cuse, came early in the season
and is the only mark on the Ca
dets three-year slate.
The afternoon meet, the begin
ning of an all State-Army triple
header, will put an end to this
year s EIGA dual team meets for
both clubs, with the title going
to the winner either in part or
entirely. If Army wins, a two-way
tie for the 1953 crown will take
effect, as both clubs will end up
their Eastern scraps with identi
cal 3-1 records. If the Lions win
all the marbles!
Championship Meet
The Black Knights, doached by
Tom Maloney, who also doubled
as coach of the 1952 U.S. Olympic
gym squad, weren’t supposed to
figure m this year’s Eastern stand
ings, except maybe in a spoiler
®fter Syracuse- surprised
them. But the three-time defend
ing champs weren’t through, as
evidenced by last week’s start
ling 53-43 upset over tough Navy
TT So everything points to Rec
Hall Saturday a championship
duel between the undefeated
Lions and the defending Cadets.
The Nittany gymnasts, just for
the record, haven’t tripped Army
since 1948, the last year an East
ern gym title found its way into
Rec Hall. Scores over the years
were: 1952, 58-38; 1951, 55%-40%-
1950, 59-37; 1949, 56-40, all Army!
Army on Rebound
Besides going for the Eastern
crown Saturday, the Lions will
be after their ninth straight dual
meet win, the last club to beat
Wettstone and Co. being the Ca
dets. . .
Army, on the rebound and on
the. way up, will bring in a pow
erful aggregation Saturday that
has everything from individual
stars to team depth to balance.
The only reason Syracuse beat
Army, said Wettstone, “is be
cause a few _of Army’s key men
broke on their routines and Syra
cuse’s great'tumbler, Jimmy Seb
bo, took a first in one of Army’s
very strong events.”
Besides being very strong in
the tumbling, the men from the
Hudson have the best ropeclimb
tn° m intercollegiate play today.
Three Cadets, Messrs. Ballyntine,
Renner, 'and Funkhauser, are cap
able of doing anywhere from 4.0
down to 3.7.
The Lion’s Eye
Collegian Sports Editor
BASKETBALL AND COLLEGE PRESIDENTS:
What a difference a year makes! One year ago today the Nittany
basketball team was NCAA-playoff bound. Now the only, place the
cagers are headed is Philadelphia for the season * windup against
Temple . . . Yet, it was a good season. Elmer Gross’ claii did just
as well as last year in every respect—they won all at home for the
second straight season—except winning the big road games . . .
Oddly enough, one team State did defeat on a foreign floor, George
town, accepted a bid to the National, Invitational Tourney . '. .
If you wani to be catty about it, ancient rival Pitt would be
glad to own a 15-8 court record like State's. Every year Pitt Coach
Doc Carlson modestly predicts, for the benefit of the Fourth Estate, <
that the Panther cagers will "win 'em all." And for the seven sue
cessive years prior Jo this season, the Pitts couldn't even win half
of *' 'em all/' However, things are looking up at the Skyscraper U.
—Pitt finished with a 12-11 mark ...
With Pitt not using its celebrated freeze Saturday night, Clown
Prince Colson, wasn’t as much entertainment as Nittany Prexy
Milton Eisenhower would have
been. No; basketball coaching is
not numbered among the talents
of “Ike’s brother.” However, the
following story is well known at
Kansas State where the Prexy
occupied a collegiate White House
rovious to coming to Penn State.
Kansas State cage Coach Jack
Gardner has told it thusly: "Sure,
basketball coaches are screwballs.
Bui let me tell you whal it does
io college presidents. Prexy Eisen
hower used to sit on the Jayhawk
bench with me and the assistant
coach during the home basketball
games. Every lime "the ref would
call a foul on one of our boys,
Eisenhower would let out a howl
and jump onto the floor. My as
sistant would grab him by the
coat tail and I would end up pulling them both back to the bench."
RIP'S ANSWER TOO OBVIOUS?
The Feb. 7 issue of New Yorker magazine ran a squib about
Nittany football Coach Rip Engle but forgot the punch line. An item
under the title, The Most Fascinating Story of the Week, ran some
thing like this: State College, (£>)—Penri. State’s 43-year-old Coach
Rip Engle had a ready answer when a reporter asked him when
his hair started to turn white. However, the “ready answer”, wasn’t
printed. Either it was a mistake, or the Ripper’s answer, “the day I
started coaching football,” was -‘too obvious . . . Engle’s hair is in
for further white-washing in another month. The gridders begin
spring drills April 9..
*; ★
GRAPPLING ABOUT:
Speaking of Pitt basketball “looking up,” take a look at the
Panther’s wrestling noses-in-the-air. In 1950 Pitt’s grapplers had
an 0-8 record. Their mark was 7-7 in 1951.' Last year Pitt only lost
one, to Charlie Speidel’s EIWA champs, 25-5. Now this, year—last
weekend to be exact—the Panthers lost their first again to State,-
but only by four points. State may soon have to sing, “Hold that
Panther, hold that Panther” . . . The Maryland-State grapplefest
in Rec Hall last week had an unusual twist—the fans had the un
accustomed displeasure of waiting on Hud Samsom’s heavyweight
match for the final outcome . . . Bob Homan’s loss to Pitt’s Hugh
Peery (123) wasn t so surprising in view of Peery’s background—
Pan-American champ and United States Olympic tryout-bantam
weight champ. However, Jerry Maurey’s first dual meet loss of his
career was more startling since his Maryland conqueror, Rod Norris'
(137), had never proved'himself. against top-notch competition . . .
One last word on fhe Carlson freeze that hibernated this sea
son. Former Nittany Coach John Lawther says that Pitt once froze
the ball 13 minutes in Madison Square Garden against Fordham.
However, it was a moving freeze operating out of the Figure Eight
weave which Carlson perfected. With dazzling ballhandling which
awed New York scribes, Pitt worked the ball in,, and then back out.
but never took a shot.
EiWA Tickets Are
Reserved seats have been made | Old Main. '
avaxiabie to the Penn ; State Ath- H. R. 'Gilbert, graduate man
letic Association for the Eastern ager of athletics, said the tickets
Intercollegiate Wrestling Associ- are priced at $1.20 for each of the
°‘ iai ”P l ?^ slu P s at Princeton, two Friday sessions, and $l.BO for
March 13-14, and may now .each of the two Saturday sessions,
be obtained at the A.A. office m The series ticket is priced at $4.20. -
Sports Thru
By JAKE HIGHTON
Now Available
, • >
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1953
★ ★