South Mountaineer Volume 12, Issue 18

              Cagers Enjoy Greatest Week
, V'Y''':/;-.'
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Published by the Alumni Student Grants Committee, Lehigh University Alumni Association
Vol. 12 - No. 18
MARCH 2, 1970
BETHLEHEM, PENNA.
Grapplers   Crush    Two   Rivals
2 Victories Over Lafayette
Precede Top Palestra Effort
Tiger, Scarlet
Matmen Fall
Lehigh's annual wrestling
workout against Rutgers, Saturday at New Brunswick, N.J.,
resulted in a 31-3 romp for the
Engineers who hung up their ninth
victory of the season against
three defeats. Lehigh's freshmen
also won, 25-8, to finish their
campaign with four triumphs and
two setbacks.
It was the second night of action
during the week for Lehigh grapplers. Last Wednesday the
varsity crushed Princeton at
Tigertown, 25-11, after the
freshmen posted an 18-16 edge.
Coach Gerry Leeman, who
missed meets against Penn State
and Princeton because of illness,
was back on the bench for
Rutgers. He ran frosh and varsity squads, as a matter of fact,
with assistant Mike Caruso
sidelined by sickness.
There were four regular
matmen missing, too, but their
absence failed to slow down the
Engineer onslaught. Co-captains
Dick Meyer and Jack Bentz, and
Scott Christie and Rick Bacastow
all were idled by injuries.
Approximately 1,000 spectators watched Lehigh trim the
Scarlet for the 23rd time in
24 attempts in a meet which
produced  only two tough bouts.
Dave Icenhower (134) and Jay
Leeman (142) of Lehigh were in
the close ones. Icenhower used
two time advantage points to nip
Frank Mollo, 8-7, and Leeman
turned   back   Joe  Frezza,   6-3.
Unbeaten heavyweight Gary
Leinberger of the Engineers
hiked his seasonal record to a
flashy 11-0-1 with an 11-5 victory
over Paul Mi lea who managed to
keep things interesting for the
first six minutes.
Other top Lehigh matmen
enjoyed easy outings.
Herb Campbell (10-2) piled up a
14-0 margin over Bill Kelly at
150 pounds and Steve Shields
(9-1-2) made Dan Brandenburg
a 9-1 victim at 177. Campbell
did absolutely everything except
pin Kelly who bridged desperately
during the last two minutes of the
bout to go the distance.
Lee man's four reverses did
well. Only Arnie Bramow, who
manages the varsity when not
called upon to don a uniform, was
on the short end. He took over a
lightweight slot, upon the absence
of Meyer, and was beaten 11-0
at 118 pounds by Dennis Smith of
the Scarlet who boasts a 9-1
record.
Dave Waters filled in for
Bacastow at 158 and was a winner
over George Bellino by default
when the latter injured a knee in
I Statement On MAC Ruling |
Lehigh issued the following statement last Wednesday (Feb. 25)
concerning an MAC games committee ruling which forced the Engineers
to play an extra game with Lafayette to deter mine which team received
the second playoff berth in the MAC western section:
Lehigh plays Lafayette tonight (Feb. 25) to determine which of the
teams gets a berth in the Middle Atlantic Conference playoffs. The Engineers participate only after a strong protest against a decision by
the MAC games committee forcing such a contest.
William B. Leckonby, Lehigh director of athletics, expressed strong
disapproval of the special game today when he learned of it for the first
time while in New York attending ECAC meetings. His request for a reconsideration of the decision was denied.
"It is academically, physically and psychologically wrong" he said,
" for the committee to insist upon such a contest which could lead to a
college team playing four games in five nights." MAC playoffs are
Friday and Saturday at the Penn Palestra.
" Conference playoff procedure," Leckonby continued, " calls for the
games committee to'pick' a team in the case of a tie, considering overall records. LehigL goes into tonight's game with a better overall record than Lafayette.
"Rider is admitted, after splitting two games with Lehigh, on the
strength of a superior overall record. Lehigh, after dividing games with
Lafayette and Rider, and having a better overall record than Lafayette,
is not. The ruling is inconsistent and unjust."
Lehigh, Rider and Lafayette all won seven conference games and lost
three. Against each other Rider had a 3-1 mark with Lehigh 2-2 and
Lafayette  1-3.
Lehigh was the only team in the western section of the conference to
defeat every other team.
A decision to force Lehigh and Lafayette into a special playoff game,
with Rider admitted automatically, was made last night by the MAC
games committee including chairman John Carpenter, basketball coach
and director of athletics at Rider; Jack McKinney, director of athletics
at St. Joseph's, and Robert Hulton, basketball coach at Gettysburg.
St. Joseph's, champion of the eastern section, will play tonight's winner in the first round Friday.
Trackmen Impressive
0:07.6 in the 60-high hurdles;
Mike Stockbine, 2:17.2 in the
1,000; and Bob Gulash, 1:13.5 in
the 600.
How Lehigh men placed:
1-Mile Run—1. Steele, Lehigh, 4:12.2;
2. Collins, Lehigh, 4:21.3: 3. Strockbine,
Lehigh Frosh, 4:21.5; 4. Carney, Lehigh,
4:27.5.
60-Yard   Dash   --   No Lehigh placers;
600-Yard Run--1. Gulash, Lehigh,
1:13.5-: 3.Rege, Lehigh, 1:14.6.
60-Yard High Hurdles-- 1. Tarulli, Lehigh, 0:07.6*; 5. Senkowski, Lehigh frosh,
0:07.9.
1000-Yard Run--1. strockbine, Lehigh
Frosh, 2:17.2*5^
2-Mile Run—1. Steele, Lehigh, 9:16.9*;
2. Heil, Lehigh, 9:19.6, 3. Detrick, Lehigh,
9:27.2; 4. Nicholas, Lehigh, 9;32.7.
2-Mile Relay--4. Lehigh Frosh (Gelber
2:04.2, 8:23.8: Soderberg 2:07.6, Ferrie
2:06.8,   Evans 2:05.2.
Pole Vault -  3. Harris, Lehigh Frosh,
High Jump-No Lehigh placers.
Triple Jump - 3. Shelley, Lehigh Frosh
42'2" «/..>, 5. Meyers, Lehigh, 41  11 3/4".
Long Jump - 2. Meyers, Lehigh, 21'-
3 1/4"*, 4. Shellev, Lehigh Frosh, 20' 11-
1/4".
Shot-put - 2. Derwin, Lehigh Frosh, 46'-
1 i",   5. Benfield, Lehigh Frosh, 45* 3-!,-".
1-Mile Relay - 1. Lehigh (Kirby 54~.3,
Rege 51.3, Carney 53.3, Gulash 50.6)-;
5. Lehigh Frosh (Summa 53.1, Moe 53.1,
Senkowski  53.1, Stauffer 5 2.2), 3:31.4<?.
^University Indoor Record
(fry Freshman Indoor Record
Lehigh captured six firsts, Lafayette two and Muhlenberg one
Friday night in the University of
Delaware Invitational Indoor
Track Meet.
Lehigh's Tim Steele was the
only double winner from the three
schools as he won the two mile
in 9:16.9 and the mile in 4:12.1.
Other first place winners for the
Engineers    were Neil    Tarulli,
the second period. Bellino led 2-0
over the smaller Engineer when
the bout had to be halted.
Art Rutzen, wrestling at 167 in
place of Bentz, piled up six points
with a strong second period to
whip Terry Murphy, 8-1. Al Nicusanti of Phillipsburg, N.J.,
replacing Christie at 190, had a
similarity easy time against Bob
Dunbar whom he trounced, 12-3.
Ricky Mitzner, working at 126,
tore after Tom DiGanci and was
ahead 5-0 in the second stanza
when he flattened the Scarlet mat-
man with a cradle in 4:57.
At Princeton, last Wednesday,
the Engineers also dropped the
opening bout but then took charge
(Continued on Page 2)
Two clutch triumphs over Lafayette, and a surprisingly s tr o ng
performance against
St. Joseph*s in the
Penn Palestra, made
last week the greatest one in Lehigh
basketball history.
The Engineers battered Lafayette 88-68 to deprive the
Leopards of undisputed possession of first place in the MAC
western section, edged Lafayette
86-83 in a special game to determine which of the teams would
get the section's second playoff
berth, and then fought highly-
favored St. Joseph's right down
to the wire in Philadelphia before bowing, 65-63.
More than 11,000 fans watched
the Engineer cagers. There were
3,100 in Grace Hall for the first
Lafayette battle, a turnout of
1,750 at Muhlenberg for the special game and close to 7,000 at the
Palestra for the MAC playoff
attraction.
To say it was a hectic, exciting and satisfying week would
be an understatement.
Considerably enlivening the
action was a hassle with the MAC
games committee which, after
Lehigh whipped Lafayette by 20
points and had a better overall
record than its arch-rivals, forced the Engineers into a third
contest with the Leopards.
Lafayette came into Grace Hall
last Tuesday leading the western
section with a 7-2 record against
6-3 for Lehigh and 7-3 for Rider.
After Bob Fortune, Johnny
Waters and the rest of the Engineers got through twisting the
Leopard's tail that night there
was a triple tie for first place.
Fortune netted 25 points, Waters added 23 and Lehigh opened
up a big margin after overcoming   an   early   22-14     deficit.
The   3,100  fans  who  saw the
Coach's Comment
"Pll go along with those people
who say it was the greatest week
in Lehigh basketball history. Our
men gave us three terrific efforts
and there's no doubt that Lehigh
basketball fortunes took a big
step upward. Those were three
pressure games, from every
standpoint, and our team met the
challenge.". . .Roy Heckman,
basketball.
Grace Hall rout constituted the
largest turnout at home for a
Lehigh basketball offering.
Coach Roy Heckman, infuriated
over the MAC games committee
ruling later that night which ruled the teams would have to clash
again 24 hours later, feared
his squad wouldn't be able to
duplicate its winning performance after "such a psychological letdown."
But the best was yet to come.
At Muhlenberg College, ruled a
neutral floor despite the fact that
Lafayette had beaten the Mules
there earlier in the season, the
Engineers staged the most fantastic shooting display within
memory to dump Lafayette completely out of the playoff picture.
Lehigh shot 64 per cent from
the floor, sinking 36 of 56 field
goal tries, to top a strong 50 per
cent   effort   by the  Leopards.
It was a cliff-hanger all the way
after Lafayette pulled up from an
early 19-9 deficit to move ahead.
Fortune, who dominated action
this season between the Engineers and the Leopards, banged
home 31 markers in this game
and it was his 3-point maneuver
wi th 1:28 re mai ni ng that re gai ned
the lead for Lehigh, 82-81.
Lafayette, battling to get off a
good shot in the final minute, had
a pass intercepted by Waters near
(Continued on Page 2)
Frosh Cagers
Finish 16-2
Lehigh's freshman basketball
team ended a brilliant season
last week with an 87-69 triumph
over Lafayette and an 82-66 loss
at Rutgers.
Coach Bob Kennedy's team won
16 games and lost only two, both
of the losses at the hands of the
Scarlet quintet.
Six-foot-eight center Hank
Wisniewski starred with 20 points
in the Lafayette game and 22 in
the Rutgers finale.
The lineups:
LAFAYETTE
Carrir-k 0-1-1—1, Blass 3-S-6 —11 ,Ko-
cubinski 7-7-7—21, Rookstool4-5-5—13,
Guerra- 7-0-3 — 14, Gonzalez 4-1-5 — 9,
Duncan 0-0-2--0, Harbur 0-0-0 — 0, Fal-
kenstern 0-0-0--0, Mollenhauer 0-0-0--0.
Totals:   25-19-29—69.
LEHIGH
Planker 4-3-7- 11, D'Agosta 4-6-11 —
14, Wisniewski 6-8-9--20, Lloyd 5-5-5—
15, Zelickson 8-3-5—19, Carpenter 1-0-
0—2, Corbett 2-0-1--4 , Neumann 0-0-
0--0, Howard 0-0-0--0, Hutton 1-0-0—
2,    Johnson 0-0-0. Totals;  31-2f)-38-87.
Halftime: Lehigh, 43-3H.