Just a month away from postseason competition, the wrestling team (8-5 overall, 2-1 Ivy League) started off the month of February on a hot streak, as the Tigers took out Ivy opponents Harvard and Brownon Saturday. While the Tigers took out both teams on the road last year, the wins were even sweeter this year, as head coach Chris Ayres’s squad was able to win before a packed Dillon Gymnasium in front of a number of Princeton wrestling alumni as the team honored its “Celebration of Princeton Wrestling.”
The last time Harvard visited Dillon, the Crimson came away with a decisive 27-6 victory. But the Tigers refused to let history repeat itself, as freshman 133-pounder Jordan Reich got Princeton going with a strong 10-3 decision over Harvard’s Ryan Osleeb. Junior Chris Perez provided additional momentum in the first of his two overtime victories on the day, as he scored against Harvard's Colby Knight on a takedown in the first sudden victory period of their 149-pound match. Perez’s win was the beginning of a streak for Princeton in which the Tigers won four of the next five bouts to build an insurmountable 21-6 lead with two bouts to go in the match. Two Harvard victories to conclude the match finalized the Tigers’ 24-12 victory, and the Crimson boarded their bus and headed to Philadelphia to take on Penn, where they fell 26-13.
Coming off a 26-9 loss against Pennsylvaniaon Saturdayafternoon, Brown then switched places with Harvard, as they drove into the Garden State for a6 p.m. showdown against the Tigers. The Bears built an early 6-0 lead through the first two bouts, but sophomore 141-pounder Jordan Laster posted a strong 11-4 decision, followed by Perez’s second overtime victory of the day over Brown’s Steven Galiardo. Freshman 165-pounder Jonathan Schleifer posted his second strong performance of the day, with a major decision that gave the Tigers a 10-9 advantage with four bouts to go.
A win at 174 pounds gave Brown a 13-10 lead, but sophomore 184-pounder Brett Harner put the Tigers back in the match with the biggest win on the day, and arguably the biggest win of Harner’s collegiate career thus far. Facing a returning All-American in Ophir Bernstein, Harner battled through a scoreless first period. But a key takedown in the second period gave Harner a 2-1 advantage going into the third period, where he again took down Bernstein and secured a strong 5-1 victory. With the match tied at 13 apiece, No. 10 junior Abram Ayala came through with a 12-4 major decision which gave the Tigers a four-point advantage going into the final bout at heavyweight, where the Bears only managed a decision and fell to the Tigers by a team score of 17-16.
“Yesterday was a huge day for the program in many ways,” Harner said. “It’s always nice to beat Harvard — in any context — but to take them out in our own gym with a ton of alumni there was really something special. Our program would cease to exist if it weren’t for our strong alumni support, and I’m glad we were able to put on a show for them.”
Despite the closeness of the Brown dual, Harner was pleased with the team’s performance. The sophomore captain was also excited about his win over Bernstein, which was monumental for both himself and the entire team.
“The Brown dual was a little too close for comfort, and we certainly would have liked to be more dominant," Harner said. "Overall, it was a drastic improvement on last last week's performance. We had a phenomenal two weeks of training leading up to this weekend and I think that really came to fruition in the two duals. Despite how sore and tired I felt from that training, I found myself feeling better than ever, ready to push the pace for seven minutes. I think that's what really made the difference in my match against Bernstein. I stopped thinking so much, had some faith in our coaches' plans for our training, and just wrestled.”
The Tigers will hit the road this weekend as they travel to New Yorkon Fridayevening for a6 p.m. meeting with conference rival Columbia. The grapplers will then battle in-state rival Rutgerson Saturdayafternoon for a2 p.m. showdown in New Brunswick, N.J.
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