After finally tasting success last year, it seems that the wrestling team is ready for the full serving this season.
Returning only four starters from last year's lineup, the Tigers still have a great deal of confidence in their lineup. While only four of the starters this year are seniors, every wrestler managed to compete in the starting lineup at least once last year.
With the Ivy League season not beginning until February, the first part of the Tigers' season is invitation tournaments and local dual meets. The Tigers have their most difficult schedule in many years, with six nationally ranked teams on the schedule including Iowa, Oklahoma and Lehigh.
The high level of competition brings with it an opportunity for many of the Tigers. With several wrestlers hoping to place at Nationals, they need early season practice against other top-ranked wrestlers to be prepared for the NCAA tournament.
Much of the success of this year's team will rely on junior Greg Parker, who is wrestling at 174 lbs this year. Sharing time with seniors last year, Parker often switched between 174 and 184 lbs., making it difficult for him to get comfortable at his regular weight. The constant change in weight class makes last year even more impressive for Parker, who qualified for the NCAA tournament last year. Wrestling consistently at 174 lbs. this year, Parker should be even more dominant than he was last season.
So far, he is yet to disappoint. Parker is undefeated, ranked 15th in the country, and on Saturday, he defeated the No. 11 wrestler, Tyler Nixt of Iowa.
"Parker is stronger and faster, and I think that he has more confidence, and that is what he needs to achieve his goals this year," head coach Mike New said. "He sights set on very high goals, but I think that he has a legitimate chance at reaching them."
Alongside Parker, senior Juan Venturi is one of the most talented wrestlers on the team and will be instrumental in Princeton's success this season. Leaving his customary 133-lb. weight class to wrestle at 141-lbs. this year, Venturi will be challenged to adjust to the new weight class. But even with the change, Venturi has already shown good results this year.
Sophomore Milo Adams will be wresting at 149 lbs. Only a few weeks into the season, Adams is 3-1. He won his matches against powers Edinboro and Iowa, and he is already turning into one of the top wrestlers on the team.
"We will get to prove just how good we are with this schedule," Adams said. "This is an interesting team, because it is really mixed with experienced seniors and talented underclassmen."
Wrestling at the 125-lb. division, sophomore Brian Kirschbaum wrestled in almost every meet last year and had a strong season, winning several important matches.
Senior Anthony Debartolo, at 184 lbs., is very experienced, but the rest of the higher weights are filled by sophomores who did not have many opportunities last year. Sophoamore Matt Fisher is wrestling at 197 lbs., and sophomore Joe Looke, who wrestled 197 lbs. last year, is wrestling heavyweight this year. Both wrestlers are very talented, but they have not yet had a chance to prove themselves at these weight classes.
Looke has gained almost 25 pounds from last year and is still learning to wrestle as a heavyweight. So far in the season, he has faced some of the best competition in the country, including the No. 5 heavyweight in the nation.
The Ivy League will be very tough once again. Both Penn and Harvard are very strong, and Cornell also returns a talented core of wrestlers. Princeton can certainly compete with these teams, but none of those matches will be easy for the Tigers.
"We start with a difficult schedule this year because I want us to keep getting better as the season progresses," New said. "They know what it feels like to win and they expect to win."
The Tigers are at a disadvantage without junior Joe Clarke wrestling this year. Clarke would have competed at 141 lbs. for the Tigers, but with Venturi wrestling at 141 lbs., Clarke decided to take the year off to save his year of eligibility, instead of wrestling at a different weight.
With Christmas break and then exams approaching, the Tigers will compete in various tournaments, but the bulk of their season occurs in February, when Parker, Venturi and the Tigers will be competing for championships.
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