Tigers go 4-0 at NYU Duals

The wrestling team opened its season by dominating the competition at the New York University Duals on Saturday, downing Roger Williams, 41-4, Williams, 29-2, Maritime, 53-0, and Western New England College, 43-6, for a perfect 4-0 finish.

Though Princeton has competed in a number of unofficial tournaments this season, this weekend was the team's first opportunity to wrestle in dual meets. In this format, the wrestlers know who they will compete with ahead of time, allowing them to prepare for specific opponents. Needless to say, this set schedule changes the team's strategy.

"It's now about going all out for seven minutes, rather than conserving any energy for future rounds," junior Eric Marcotulli said.

Despite the change, the Tigers appeared to have no trouble switching to the dual meet format.

Freshman Danny Scotton finished 4-0 on the day in the 133-pound weight class, pinning his opponents in every match. He credited his strong showing to the time he has spent improving three skills this winter: shots, shot defense and not getting stuck on bottom. He has worked on those skills with his veteran teammates, including Marcotulli, senior co-captain Andrew Iannuzzi and fellow freshman Ben Shechet.

Sophomore Marty Everin, whose conditioning allowed him to come from behind to win several matches, also ended the day with an undefeated record at 165 lbs. He posted falls against Maritime at four minutes, 54 seconds and Western New England at 1:00, an 11-2 major decision against Williams and a 4-2 victory over Roger Williams.

Sophomore Logan Lowe, wrestling at 184 lbs., finished the day with an impressive 3-1 record. He earned a major decision over Humberto Gunn of Roger Williams, 14-3, a fall against Maritime at 2:44 and another major decision against Western New England, 15-3. Since Lowe attributes his only loss to passive wrestling and a lack of movement, he has been working on wrestling more on his feet, he said. Though he has been more of a defensive wrestler in the past, he is trying to expand his offensive repertoire.

"I feel confident in my defense and even try to lure my opponent into shooting on me, instead of risking attacking him when I can be countered," Lowe said. "This gets back to why I'm working on my offense — so that I can be more versatile and aggressive with my approach instead of needing to rely on defense."

In the 141-lb. class, Marcotulli also put up a noteworthy performance, garnering a 3-0 record after skipping the second match against Roger Williams. In noticeably better shape since the beginning of the season, he said he wants to continue to improve his conditioning. The matches increase from six to seven minutes in length at this point in the season, so it is crucial that the wrestlers are prepared for the extra toll that minute may take on their bodies.

Marcotulli has also been diversifying his style by taking offensive shots in neutral and not relying on his defense to carry him through the match. He was able to hit a few moves from his feet to his opponent's back, giving him extra points for exposing his opponent's back for an extended period of time right off the takedown.

Rounding out the big winners were Iannuzzi and senior co-captain Jake Butler, who both went 4-0. Iannuzzi turned in a fall over Williams at 1:09, a technical fall over Western New England at 5:00 and major decisions over Kenny Ford of Roger Williams, 14-5, and over Maritime, 23-9. Butler pinned all four opponents — three of them in the first period.

For the co-captains and their teammates, this weekend was only the beginning. Princeton will be facing much tougher opponents as the season progresses, and the grapplers are by no means looking to rest on their laurels. Though the season brings high expectations for each wrestler, the Tigers wouldn't have it any other way.