Grapplers still unable to get a 'W'

Tuesday night the struggling wrestling team (0-8 overall, 0-1 EIWA) was hoping to turn its season around and capitalize on the fact that its opponent, Rutgers, was riding a losing streak of its own. Princeton was never able to get the momentum, however, and the Scarlet Knights (1-2, 1-0) coasted to a dominating 39-3 victory.

The night started out on a positive note, with freshman Nikhil Pereira getting an 11-9 decision in overtime against Rutgers' Andrew Delguiercio in the 125-pound weight class. Pereira was down early but was able to fight his way back and win on a takedown with 27 seconds left on the clock. Unfortunately for the Tigers, this initial victory would be the highlight of the night.

In the 133-pound weight class, Rutgers rebounded with Dan Hilt's pin against freshman Jeff Kirchick at four minutes, 34 seconds. This gave the Scarlet Knights a 6-3 lead, and they never looked back.

In the 141-pound weight class, senior Stephen Savin was defeated by Kyle Milanese on a technical fall, resulting in a disappointing 0-16 bout score for Savin. This bout brought the total match score to 11-3 after three bouts.

Another Princeton senior, Jesse Palermo, fell by a major decision in the next bout in the 149-pound weight class. While Palermo finished the first period only one point behind, his opponent put on the pressure and kicked up the intensity, ending the third period as the victor, 15-3.

Freshman Mike Alvarez subsequently lost the next bout on a pin. While Alvarez struck the first blow with a takedown, his opponent, Chris Norell, fought back to tie the score and eventually closed it out at 4:02 with a pin. This bout gave Rutgers a 21-3 lead, and all but extinguished Princeton's hopes of a dramatic comeback.

In the 165-pound weight class, senior Robbie Bremmer was the third Tiger to be pinned as his opponent gained the advantage at the 6:33 mark.

Junior John Clore fought hard in the 174-pound weight class but couldn't overcome two takedowns in the first two periods on his way to losing by a score of 5-1.

At 184 pounds, sophomore Oliver Noteware lost a major decision to his opponent Keith Dobish.

Freshman Zach Morse competed strongly in the 197-pound weight class, mounting a comeback after initially being down 4-0. Though he nearly matched his opponent point for point after the first round, time was unfortunately against Morse as he finished the bout with an 8-3 loss.

Hard-fought closing match

Closing out the match, senior Kris Berr competed solidly in the heavyweight class. After Rutgers' Mike D'Amico won the first point, the opponents traded points until the bout was over. Unfortunately, this left Berr on the losing end of an extremely competitive 3-2 nail-biter.

While a 0-8 record is not quite how the Tigers wanted to start the season, many young wrestlers are gaining valuable experience and learning under a new coach. As soon as this largely inexperienced team can regroup and learn from its mistakes, Princeton could very well become a formidable foe in the wrestling world.

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This match against Rutgers is the last competition the Tigers have until their season resumes again after winter break in January. They will face Duke on the road on Jan. 6 and East Stroudsburg on Jan. 12, finally returning home to match up against Harvard in the start of Ivy League competition on Feb. 2.