On Saturday afternoon the wrestling team had its second and third home meets of the season.
In its first home meet on Nov. 20, the Tigers easily beat South Dakota state, 24-18. Saturday's matches, however, would be a different story.
In front of nearly fifty fans — all of whom trudged into Dillon Gym from out of the bitter cold and snow of the winter's first storm — the wrestling team lost to Wisconsin, 32-9, and to Franklin & Marshall, 32-6.
Handicapped from the start
Princeton entered the match against Wisconsin without two of its best. Both seniors Brian Kirschbaum and Joe Looke were absent from the lineup due to injury — absences which cost the Tigers valuable points in both matches.
Freshman Stephen Savin filled in for Kirschbaum at 133-lbs., while senior Nate Rawlings filled in for Looke at the heavyweight spot. Savin was pinned in both matches he fought, while Rawlings, notified of his start on Friday, showed tremendous heart in extending the bouts to the third period.
"We realized coming in that [the loss of both wrestlers] was going to change the team's scores," sophomore Matt DeNichilo said. "We needed to perform individually, to the best of our abilities."
Unfortunately, Princeton's best on Saturday wasn't good enough.
From the opening bout the Tigers struggled against Wisconsin, which wrestles in the perennially strong Big Ten conference.
Rawlings lost to the Badgers' Joe Chose, 8-0. Princeton lost the next two matches, as both senior Kenny Chu, wrestling in the 125-lb. weight class, and Savin lost. Chu was able to extend his match all three periods, while Savin was pinned 38 seconds into the first period.
First win
Princeton's first win of the afternoon came at the hands of Milo Adams (141), who defeated Tony Turner, 8-4. Adams led from the start, posting a takedown in the early seconds of the match. He recorded two more in the opening period to race out to a commanding 6-2 lead and added a final takedown in the closing minutes to give the Tigers a much-needed victory.
But Princeton could not build on Adams' win. Sophomore Matt Piselli (149) and junior Charlie Wiggins (157) were the next victims, and though DeNichilo (165) won his match by forfeit, the Badgers took the remaining three bouts to win, 32-9.
"They are a quality team," DeNichilo said of the Badgers. "They definitely came looking for 'W's."
And 'W's' they would get.
Another try
Despite the humbling loss in its first match, the Tigers had a chance to recover and make something of the afternoon versus Franklin & Marshall.
As against Wisconsin, however, Princeton lost the opening three matches against Franklin & Marshall and was unable to recover. The Tigers lost to the Diplomats, 32-6.
Adams again posted an inspiring win and was backed by the efforts of senior Allen Sista (184), who also won. But these two were the sole victors on Princeton's side for the remainder of the afternoon.
DeNichilo put up a valiant fight against Franklin & Marshall's Ted Seemuller, but ultimately lost 7-6. The sophomore led 4-2 after the first period and was wrestling well. He was ahead 6-5 in the match's final moments, but a takedown by Seemuller with 10 seconds remaining gave the Diplomat wrestler the victory.
"It was kind of disappointing," DeNichilo said. "I was pretty confident wrestling from the neutral position, but I made a bad decision in a scramble at the end."
Junior Jack Fleming, who nearly won the 174-lb. weight class at the Kutztown Invitational last week, lost both of his matches on Saturday, as did senior Matt Hawrilenko (197).
Princeton will see the Diplomats more than once this season. The Tigers will be able to exact revenge at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships, held in early March. The Tigers can count on Kirschbaum and Looke, two of Princeton's strongest wrestlers, being healthy for that match.
Princeton next wrestles this Saturday against Central Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich.
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