Bonfiglio named EIWA Wrestler of the Week after upset victory

Completely focused and set on starting his run for an NCAA championship, senior Ryan Bonfiglio confidently defeated No. 9-ranked Matt Lackey of the University of Illinois at the North Carolina State Duals Saturday, Jan. 13.

One of the top wrestlers in the country at the 165 lbs. class, Lackey had been ranked as high as No. 2 earlier in the season. Pulling off the stunning 3-2 victory, Bonfiglio's match was the high point of an otherwise disappointing day in which the Tigers went 1-2 at the dual meets.

With three dual meets, the Tigers wrestled Illinois, Ohio University and Campbell. After an embarrassing loss against Illinois, the Tigers recovered but lost a close meet against Ohio, 26-13. They finished the day with a victory against Campbell, 26-12.

With a couple of injuries, the Tigers were cautious not to get anyone else hurt with the highly competitive Ivy League schedule set to begin Feb. 3. With their top wrestler, sophomore Greg Parker — who wrestles at 184 lbs. — out of action, the Tigers asked freshman Matt Fisher to fill in, but Fisher fell short in both of his matches. Parker, who hurt his knee at the Midlands tournament Dec. 29, will be absent from the roster for possibly four weeks after a delicate knee operation Jan. 15.

Illinois proved too tough for the Tigers. Princeton only won two matches — Bonfiglio's and an impressive performance by senior Scott Pasquini, wrestling at 174 lbs. In an exciting fight, Pasquini defeated Illinois' John Sears, 8-4.

Pasquini had just returned from an injury and in his second match after the layoff, he proved that he was ready to lead and at times carry his team. Pasquini had a strong day, going 2-1. But Bonfiglio once again led the team in victories, winning all three of his matches on the day.

Accolade

After this strong performance, Bonfiglio was named Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Associa-tion Wrestler of the Week.

After Lackey, Bonfiglio's next victim was John Wervey, whom Bonfiglio annihilated, 13-3. Bonfiglio finished his day with a second major decision, this time against Campbell's Lantz Nixon, 16-5.

Another starter, junior Juan Venturi, was also absent for the Tigers. Sophomore John Knorring, who was filling in for Venturi at 133 lbs., wrestled well, but the sophomore was unable to pull out two close matches. After losing to Chad Hay of Illinois, 4-1, and to John Hodermarsky of Ohio, 2-0, Knorring finished his day with a victory against Campbell's Kevin Gullidge, 8-2.

Venturi might have had a better chance against the Illinois and Ohio wrestlers. Hoping to let Venturi wrestle at his peak against his Ivy League competitors, however, the decision was made to turn to Knorring, who managed a decent day of wrestling.

Lineup shuffling

The Tigers had hoped to be more successful at the meet, but the strong return of Pasquini and the huge win by Bonfiglio made the entire weekend worthwhile. Worried by the injury of Parker, the Tigers' coaching staff is quickly preparing for Fisher to be ready for the Ivy League meets in February.

Parker hopes to heal expeditiously from his surgery, but he will almost certainly miss the opening week of Ivy League wrestling when Princeton will take on several of its top rivals, such as Harvard and Brown. In the next two weeks, the Tigers will learn if they can win without Parker.