Tigers' only points of weekend come by forfeit

Princeton's wrestling team (0-16 overall, 0-4 Ivy League) hit the road to face New York Ivy League rivals Columbia (6-3, 2-1) and Cornell (6-5, 3-0) this past weekend. The Tigers came away empty handed, losing to Columbia 36-7 before being routed by powerhouse Cornell 56-0.

Cornell's No. 2 Troy Nickerson set the tempo for the match, taking down freshman Nikhil Pereira 15 seconds before going on to win by fall. After a forfeit in the 133-pound weight category, sophomore Danny Scotton posted the best Tiger performance of the day.

In the hard fought match, Scotton faced Cornell's Corey Manson. During the first period, Manson and Scotton exchanged take downs for escapes twice before Manson finished off the round with a take down. Down 6-2, Scotton responded by taking down Manson to lead off the second. The third period ended as the first had, with Manson earning a take down to pull away, 13-10. "It was a high paced match — back and forth," junior John Clore said.

The news would not get better from there. Cornell's Drake Hovis earned a technical fall against Princeton's freshman Mike Alvarez, and Cornell finished the match with five consecutive pins. The seven pins and 56 points were the most scored by the Big Red in team history.

"The whole team knew we were going up against really stiff competition," Clore said. Cornell has won the past four Ivy League titles and is heavily favored to win a fifth this season. Cornell sported four ranked wrestlers and was ranked 12th overall — by far the Tigers' toughest competition of the year.

The Tigers fared a bit better in their competition against Columbia in New York. Columbia grappler Brandon Kinney pinned Pereira to lead off the match. Both teams forfeited in the 133-pound category before Princeton picked up its only points of the match when the Lions forfeited the 141-pound category to Scotton.

Columbia recovered quickly, however, when Derek Kinports routed Princeton's senior Eric Marcotulli, 18-2, to pick up a technical fall.

In the next set, Cornell's Derek Sickles got off to a fast start, quickly taking down Alvarez twice to start off the match. Alvarez regained his composure in the second period with two take downs before ultimately falling, 15-6.

Dustin Tillman's quick pin of sophomore Aaron Casp and technical falls by Clore and sophomore Oliver Noteware dropped Princeton's score to 31-6. Unfazed, freshman Zach Morse fought hard against No. 4 Jerry Rinaldi. Down badly after the first period, he rallied for two take downs in the third — and should have had a third — to make the score 12-6.

Senior Zack Siegele ended the day in the heavyweight category with Princeton's most inspired and impressive performance. Siegele's opponent Kevin Lester outweighed him by more than 50 pounds, but the Tiger refused to go down.

"He fought hard ... that guy was huge. We're all proud of him," Clore said.

The gutsy performance provided some badly needed good news.

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"That's what we were looking for. He showed a lot of heart. He frustrated the guy," head coach Chris Ayres said. "He had take downs against a much bigger opponent — that's impressive."

For Princeton, the tough year continues.

"The tendency has been to get tired physically and mentally as the season goes on," Clore said. "The coaches have done a good job keeping us buoyed. We'll hang in there."

Even Ayres conceded that it's been a rough year.

"It's not what I'm used to, but we'll get there," he said.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Princeton doesn't have very long to "get there." Next week, the Tigers return home for senior night, where the seven members of the Class of 2007 will be honored. After that, the Tigers will wait a few weeks before finishing up the season at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships March 2-3 at East Stroudsburg.

The Tigers won't give up, though. "We're not conceding anything going out on the mat," Clore said.