For a team that has been waiting all season for its first dual-meet win, it looks like Ivy competition won't be any easier.
The Princeton wrestling team's return to Dillon Gym ended in disappointment as the Tigers were swept in their weekend matches against Harvard (2-6 overall, 1-1 Ivy League), Brown (2-9, 1-0) and Franklin & Marshall (7-4).
The losses dropped the Tigers to 0-12 on the season, 0-2 in the Ivy League and 0-5 in Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association conference action.
On Friday, the Tigers faced an energized Harvard team coming off its first win of the season against Army.
Though the match would begin and end well, the Crimson's four ranked grapplers, including sixth-ranked J.P. O'Connor, were too much for Princeton to handle. Freshman Nikhil Pereira opened Princeton's Ivy League schedule by defeating Harvard's Ryan Fitzgerald 21-13.
Senior Kris Berr would go on to post a 3-2 victory over Andrew Knapp, but in between the Tigers were frustrated. Princeton lost all eight other weight categories, though none were by pin.
On Saturday, Princeton faced Brown and Franklin & Marshall. The Bears were searching for their first Ivy League win of the season and found it in their match against the Tigers, sweeping every weight class en route to a 47-0 victory.
The win was especially important for Brown's Mark Savino. The junior, a native of Princeton, remains the only wrestler from Mercer County to win a New Jersey state title in high school.
Savino left his mark on his hometown team, earning a major decision against sophomore Danny Scotton. His teammates, following his example, pinned the Tigers three times and earned three other major decisions.
In the afternoon, the Tigers again had to compete against a team on a winning streak. The Franklin & Marshall Diplomats stood at 5-4, coming off a three-week winning streak.
The Tigers got off to a rough start as Pereira was pinned in just over a minute. Following a forfeit in the 133-pound weight category, Franklin & Marshall's Al Gianforti edged Scotton, 10-6, before senior Eric Marcotulli pulled a technical victory over Steven Gregory.
Junior John Clore gave the Tigers their only conventional decision, eclipsing James Schulz 11-10. Nico Somers' pin of Berr would close out the match and the weekend for the disappointed Tigers.
Fortunately for the Tigers, Princeton doesn't have to wait long for a chance at redemption. The Tigers travel to New York on Friday for a match against Ivy League and EIWA foe Columbia before heading upstate for a match against Cornell the following day. The Tigers then return home for senior night against Penn, their last match before the EIWA championships.
As these matches have demonstrated, it's been a hard transition in head coach Chris Ayres' first year on the job. Princeton is currently winless on the season.
The 12-point loss to Franklin & Marshall was the Tigers' closest brush with victory so far; Princeton lost by the same margin to Davidson in January.
"I'm trying to change the culture of the program, and while the long term vision is extremely important, we must make daily progress to reach that vision," Ayres said.
Ayres concedes, however, that the road may be difficult for a Princeton varsity program being rebuilt after years of club status.
"The transition is not going to happen overnight, and I have to be patient with the wrestlers," Ayres said.
The Tigers will have at least four more opportunities to apply what Ayres has attempted to teach them all season.
After that, it's a long wait until September.
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