Tigers drop two more matches

The wrestling team's trip to Durham, N.C., last week ended in disappointment as the team dropped matches to both Duke and Davidson. Princeton went into the tri-meet hoping to revive its season after an 0-8 start. Instead, the shorthanded Tigers fell to Duke, 44-0, before posting a more respectable 30-18 loss to Davidson.

The odds were against the Tigers from the get-go, as they left home without a wrestler in either the 125- or 133-pound weight categories. The forfeits gave the Blue Devils an insurmountable 12-0 lead in the first contest. Sophomore 141-pounder Danny Scotton, in his first match back in action after an injury, managed five points against Duke's Phillip Wightman, but it was as close as Princeton would get to a victory.

The Blue Devils went on to force two pins and picked up two other major victories en route to their shutout victory. Duke had defeated Princeton last year on the road, 27-12, in its regular season finale.

In the second match, the Tigers benefited from Davidson forfeits in the 157-pound and heavyweight categories. Scotton and senior Jesse Palermo picked up victories in the 141- and 149-pound divisions, respectively, to give Princeton a 12-12 tie heading into the second half of competition. The Wildcats pulled away with major decisions by Trebor Clavette, Marcus Boyd and Sam O'Hair as well as a pin by Kevin Cook. Davidson would go on to edge Duke in the final match of the meet, 18-17, despite a pair of Wildcat forfeits.

Still, the loss was Princeton's closest margin of defeat in what has been a difficult season. The Tigers dropped their opening match at Buffalo before being swept at the Northeast Collegiate Wrestling Duals in Albany. The news only got worse from there as Princeton was shut out by Bucknell, 46-0, and defeated by Maryland in its home opener, 43-3.

The start has been frustrating for first-year head coach Chris Ayres.

"I have been impressed with all the members of the team in practice. As a group they are learning and improving at an incredible rate, but the transition to competition has not happened yet," Ayres said.

The grapplers faced a steep learning curve coming into the new system, but in the future, execution will be emphasized.

"Wrestling is 10 percent what you know and 90 percent how you use what you know," Ayres said. "We have spent a lot of time on the 10 percent and now need to devote ourselves on the other 90 percent."

The season, however, is far from over. Princeton has had only one Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) match with seven to go. A win this Friday at East Stroudsburg would even its conference record and leave the Tigers in a solid position heading into the spring semester. Its first weekend back after Intersession, Princeton will host a crucial meet against Ivy League rivals Brown and Harvard as well as conference foe Franklin & Marshall.

The Tigers still have two months to go until Ayres' ultimate goal — the EIWA championships.