DeNichilo excels in early tournament

For the wrestling team, this weekend's individual East Strousburg Open in Pennsylvania went as well as a season-opening tournament can be expected to go. There were ups, downs and a number of performances in between, but most of all, this past Saturday was a learning experience.

"It's early in the season," head coach Michael New said. "We are gauging where we're at and have many things to work on."

For several of the Princeton wrestlers, this was their first taste of what college wrestling involves — though that is by no means an excuse.

"We have young guys wrestling against, in some cases, 22-year-old men," New said. "It's just a matter of getting them developed and mentally readjusted."

It's not just the freshmen who are expected to improve. All of the wrestlers are training hard so that they can go into the next tournament stronger and tougher.

The wrestling captains contributed solid performances to lead the team on the mat. Senior Matt DeNichilo posted an impressive 5-2 record in the 174-pound weight class. The competition was extremely rigorous, and despite DeNichilo's strong showing, he did not manage to medal.

"DeNichilo did a great job of wrestling tough," New said. "He went for most of the day without wrestling in a single match, and then had to wrestle seven in a row with only about 40 minutes in between each one."

Senior Jake Butler finished the weekend's action with a 3-2 record, getting a little banged up in the process.

What made the Open even more difficult for the Tigers was that the other teams have been training with equal intensity. While Princeton has been training for about four weeks, many other teams have been training for one and a half months.

Despite, and maybe even because of, all this, the Tigers are determined to make up for lost time. They refuse to lower their standards just because they have a slight disadvantage in terms of preparation.

"I expect each and every one of them to continue to develop," New said.

Specifically, New wants to improve on offense so that the wrestlers are better prepared to put themselves in a good position to win matches. Princeton's most important concern early in the season is gauging where they are and pinpointing specific weaknesses upon which they can improve. The freshmen, in particular, must be able to step up to a steep learning curve.

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"We are trying to prevent the freshmen from hitting a wall," New said, "or if they do hit the wall, not to hit it too hard but to keep going."

The level of expectation that the Tiger wrestlers have for themselves is just as high as their level of determination. To this end, preparation and goal-setting are crucial for the Tigers.

"DeNichilo's goal for the tournament was to win five matches, and he did it," New said. "We must be able to coordinate our goals with our abilities and make the things we want to happen happen."