Competing without three of its normal starters and with several other wrestlers still not at 100 percent, the Tiger wrestling team had a rough day in its season opener.
Princeton (0-2 overall) faced Bloomsburg and Findlay, two of the top Div. II teams in the region, at the Bloomsburg Duals Saturday. With three match wins, the Tigers opened their day with a close meet against Findlay, but lost 25-11. In their second meet of the day, the Tigers lost badly to Bloomsburg, falling 49-3 and opening their season with two disappointing losses.
In their defense, the Tigers did not have their full set of wrestlers at Bloomsburg. After the graduation of four starters last year and with the absence of seniors Greg Parker and Joe Clarke and junior Joe Looke, Princeton was competing with only five wrestlers who were regular starters last year.
Even with the general inexperience of the team, juniors Brian Kirschbaum, Matt Fisher and Matt Hawrilenko all registered wins on Saturday, and Hawrilenko scored his first varsity win of his Princeton career.
All three wrestlers won in the opening dual meet against Findlay. In his third year as a starter and his second season wrestling at 133 lbs., Kirschbaum wrestled a solid match against Sean McIntire, winning 9-1. As the most experienced Tiger wrestling on Saturday, Kirschbaum pounced on McIntire's mistakes and then expanded his lead.
Wrestling at heavyweight, Hawrilenko edged out a close victory, winning 4-2.
Fisher, another returning starter, also demonstrated his experience from last year by winning the 197 lb. match by beating Clint Salisbury, 10-2. After an injury in September, Fisher has been able to return to practice, and he appeared at full health in his easy win.
Senior John Knorring and junior Andy Avesac wrestled close matches, but were not able to pull out victories. Wrestling at 141 lbs., Knorring lost a difficult 3-1 match, and Avesac lost the 174 lb. match, 7-6.
The second part of the Dual meet did not go as well for the Tigers. They lost, 49-3, to the host, Bloomsburg.
Fisher remained perfect for the season, winning a close 7-6 match against Bloomsburg's Andy Ludlow. But that was all the points the Tigers could earn.
Knorring remained tied through three periods, but in overtime, the Bloomsburg wrestler gained the advantage, winning 6-4. Junior Milo Adams, who started all of last year's Ivy League matches at 149 lbs. and wrestled against Findlay at 157 lbs., competed in the Bloomsburg match at 165 lbs, and lost in a close 6-5 match. Adams wrestled poorly in the first two periods of the match, but he dominated the third period and came just short of a win. Only returning to practice a week ago, Adams' preseason injuries left him less than 100 per cent for Saturday.
Kirschbaum and Hawrilenko were not able to replicate their wins from the Findlay match, and Kirschbaum lost by pin at 2 minutes and 43 seconds. Hawrilenko lost 13-2.
"Both Bloomsburg and Findlay are top Div. II teams and they wrestled with a lot more maturity than our guys," head coach Mike New said. "Fisher wrestled really well, and I just hope he can stay consistent. Both Hawrilenko and Kirschbaum did well against Findlay, but they fell apart against Bloomsburg. I expected a little more out of our team. We have a lot of wrestlers who still need to step up."
Saturday's outcome could have been very different if the Tigers had their full team at the meet. Captains Parker and Clarke were competing in the prestigious Missouri Open, which invites all the top wrestlers of the midwest and should prepare the two top ranked wrestlers for better competition later in the year. With neither Parker nor Clarke placing at the tournament, both faced tougher wrestlers than they would have in Bloomsburg.
Looke is also expected to have a strong season, but the injuries have kept him out of practice for the past few weeks.
The Tigers next wrestle at the Kutztown Open on Saturday.
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