Wrestling finishes seventh at EIWAs, three qualify for NCAA tournament

As the third period ended, the score remained tied at 11-11. After a long struggle, all that was left between Juan Venturi and an EIWA championship was sudden-death overtime.

With almost 1,000 people cheering for him, Venturi was attempting to do what no other Tiger has done in over ten years. But a quick move by Harvard's Matt Picarsic won the match and ended Venturi's run at the championship.

Wrestling in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships, Princeton placed seventh. And with four wrestlers placing in the top six and three wrestlers continuing to the NCAA tournament, the Tigers had a very successful weekend.

Wrestling at 133 lbs., junior Juan Venturi cruised through the first day and a half of the tournament, going undefeated in every match until the championship. In possibly the most exciting match of the day, Venturi had the championship robbed from him as the referee awarded Venturi's competitor, Picarsic, several points on questionable stalling calls. In a stint where Venturi had five takedowns, the referee penalized him with stalling three times, which seems impossible considering the fact that Venturi was attacking Picarsic during this time.

With almost 1,000 spectators packed into the Palestra stands, everyone was rooting for Venturi. Picarsic eventually went on the attack in the sudden death overtime, and ended the match when he was awarded two points for a takedown — another call the Tigers did not agree with, as Venturi's back was not clearly down. But Picarsic won the match, 13-11, also winning the championship. With both wrestlers continuing to the NCAA tournament, Venturi might get another crack at Picarsic.

Picarsic's Harvard team won the tournament, barely beating the University of Pennsylvania. Lehigh finished third and Cornell was fourth.

Another wrestler leading the Tigers' charge was senior Ryan Bonfiglio. Wrestling at 165 lbs., Bonfiglio used this tournament to take revenge on all the wrestlers who beat him during the season. While he only lost a few times, Bonfiglio was disappointed with his Ivy League record and wanted to prove himself at this tournament. Seeded fifth at the beginning of the tournament, Bonfiglio went on a tear — winning all four of his matches on Saturday — including a stunning defeat of the No. 1 seed, Clint Wattenberg of Cornell.

Going into Sunday, Bonfiglio kept his momentum and remained undefeated until the championship match. While perhaps the tournament planners did not expect him to make it to the championship, no member of the Princeton wrestling team was surprised to see one of the strongest and most successful Princeton wrestlers in the past 20 years in the final. Bonfiglio, however, fell just short to in the championship match, losing to Tim Ortman of Penn, 4-2.

But Bonfiglio's season is not complete. His second place finish secured him a spot in the NCAA tournament on March 15-17.

Following Bonfiglio's lead, sophomore Greg Parker moved easily through his first few matches in the 174 lbs. division, but he was stunned when he met Mark Newman of Navy in the quarterfinals, losing the match, 5-3.

Parker, though, remained focused and shot through the loser's bracket, where he met Newman again in the runner-up match. This time Parker defeated the Midshipman, 4-2, finishing third in his weight class.

While an NCAA tournament bid is assured for wrestlers who finish either first or second, there are also at-large bids. One such bid turned out to be Parker's ticket to the NCAA tournament.

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Possibly the most consistent wrestler for Tigers all season, sophomore Joe Clarke fell short early after losing to second-seeded Mark Conley of Navy, the eventual champion at 141 lbs., in the quarterfinals.

Clarke tried to bounce back through the loser's bracket, but eventually wound up in fifth place.

While head coach Mike New would have preferred a higher team finish, he was ecstatic with three wrestlers moving on to the NCAA tournament. It was a sad day for him as four seniors, Chris McLaughlin, Joe Rybacki, Scott Pasquini, and Jeffrey Bernd, all finished their NCAA wrestling careers within an hour of each other.

"It was really difficult to watch that. I recruited all four of those guys and they have been the backbone of Princeton wrestling for the past four years. They started the program and I would have liked to have seen them have more success on their last day of wrestling," said coach New.