University of Virginia Library

Grapplers Deserve Support

Memorial Gymnasium has to put up with a
lot of verbal abuse; there's that murky puddle
in the basement which persists in serving as a
swimming facility, and more recently there
have been alarming reports of assorted
thievery and debris in the locker rooms. But
tonight majestic Memorial Gym has a splendid
opportunity to redeem her slightly tarnished
reputation by hosting the Virginia-Maryland
wrestling match. The Terrapins of College
Park have never lost an Atlantic Coast
Conference duel wrestling match, and Virginia,
now 3-0 in the ACC, has a realistic
chance to bump the Turtles for the
conference title.

Coach George Edwards is confident that
the Cavalier grapplers can give the Terps, who
also sport an unblemished 3-0 conference
mark, a real fight. The match this evening will
also help to determine the draw for the
forthcoming ACC tournament, and Coach
Edwards is well aware of this factor, too. Last
year Maryland won individual championships
in nine of the eleven weight classes in winning
the tourney. John Pegues' title at 137 helped
push Virginia into second place behind the
Terps in team standings.

Ordinarily the match scheduled for Memorial
Gym would be set for the more spacious
and impersonal University Hall, but a high
school basketball tournament has top billing
for that facility. And maybe it's a good thing
to hold the match in the cozier quarters of the
old gym. If Memorial Gymnasium were
packed, with frenzied fans hanging from the
track and rafters, the Terrapins might have
cause to tuck their heads into their shells to
avoid the partisan spirit.

Such enthusiasm has meant the downfall
of many a Terp before: this fall the Cavalier
soccer team made the previously senseless
journey to the College Park soccer field and
tied Maryland, a feat giving the Cavaliers the
ACC soccer crown. The Virginia cagers now
have dumped the Terps four times in a row on
the basketball floor; the most recent occasion
gave the Cavaliers their first conference
victory.

Whether or not old Memorial Gymnasium
deserves the attention of a large crowd in
attendance of the wrestling match is questionable;
but the Virginia wrestlers more than
deserve support this evening against Maryland.
It's been a long time since the University filled
Memorial Gym, probably as far back as
big-time boxing; if there were a time to show
up in numbers, it's tonight.