Wrestling shut out on Senior Night

Saturday was doubly difficult for the Princeton wrestling team. The Tigers (0-17 overall, 0-8 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) sent off the seven members of its Class of 2007 in the last home match of their careers, a 47-0 loss at the hands of Penn.

"Knowing that we're not going to come back to Dillon is very strange," senior Kris Berr said. "It hasn't hit us yet — it's too early, but rolling up the mats for the last time was a strange feeling."

The feeling of defeat was all too familiar for the Tigers, however. Princeton dropped its 23rd straight match overall to the No. 20 Quakers.

Penn's Zach Shanaman kicked off the action with a major decision against Princeton's Alex Enriquez in a high-scoring match. Enriquez showed poise by hitting a big throw before Shanaman scrambled out of it.

"He probably should've scored five points on that one," junior John Clore said.

Enriquez added a takedown to cut the final margin to 19-9.

Princeton fared less well in the 174 and 184-pound categories. Both Clore and Davis Ravnaas lost by technical falls after more than six minutes of competition.

Following a major decision by Penn's Jack Sullivan over Zach Morse, Princeton's Zach Siegele turned in one of the day's most inspiring performances. In a recurring theme, the undersized heavyweight Siegele went up against a much larger opponent. He kept the match close and low scoring throughout.

One bad turn, however, ended the hope of a Princeton upset. Penn's Ben Reiter took down Siegele, landing three back points before he recovered.

Siegele managed a few good shots towards the end, but Reiter's defense was too sound, and Princeton was forced to settle with a 9-2 decision.

In the 141-pound class, Danny Scotton managed to force Penn's Brett McCurdy to play his style.

"Danny's big thing is to scramble, keep his opponents frustrated and keep the score low," Clore said.

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In the first two minutes, Scotton avoided what looked like three sure take-downs with his quick reactions. McCurdy would go on to win the match 10-3, but Scotton made the match much closer than the final tally would indicate.

Even in the 157-pound category, Princeton's Mike Alvarez was able to prevent Penn's highly touted Matt Dragon from pulling his signature move.

"His big thing is tilts, but Mike wouldn't allow it," Clore said.

With Dragon leading the Quakers, Princeton knew it was facing a tough challenge going into the match.

"Coach Ayres just told us to go out there and earn some respect. I thought we did that. We made them work for their wins." Clore said. "We wrestled a lot harder here than against Cornell [last week]."

Before the match, Princeton honored each senior individually. Coach Ayres called them one by one to come up with their parents.

Emphasizing the student-athlete tradition at Princeton, he talked about each senior's major, thesis and plans for after college.

"It was a sad night. It's the end of a long journey for them," Ayres said.

The journey isn't over quite yet. The Tigers will get a couple of days of well-deserved rest and then will begin to prepare for the EIWA championships, which take place the first weekend of March. While the Tigers are aware of their record, they're not willing to concede anything.

"The whole season we've felt like we're a half-step behind in every weight class," Clore said. "You never know, someone could have their breakout match."

At the EIWAs, Princeton will be facing the same schools it has all year, in addition to some newcomers. The top-three grapplers from each weight category advance, and another 16 are chosen based on coaches' votes.

"There are a few guys who could come through," Ayres said. "Danny Scotton has a good chance. He gets a bit aggressive, but he has a chance."

From the beginning of the year, coach Ayres has said that his goal is to get a few of his wrestlers to nationals. Now he'll have that chance.