Forfeits prove fatal vs. Duke, Davidson

While early-season success esseemed promising, Friday's New York dual meets against Duke and Davidson proved that the Princeton wrestling team still has a long way to go.

The Tigers fell 35-15 to Davidson and 40-0 to Duke. Despite the lopsided scores, there were some bright spots for the Tigers. First came sophomore 165-pounder Mike Alvarez's 7-5 victory over Davidson's Kevin Cook.

"Even though he took an early lead, I remained confident that I could come back and win and continued to wrestle hard," Alvarez said in an email.

After winning by forfeit against Davidson, senior Sam Ritter suffered a one-point loss at the hands of Duke's Mike Tunick.

"I felt like I wrestled tough and it came down to the wire. Unfortunately, I was not ultimately successful in a few situations and ended up losing in the final seconds by a point," Ritter said in an email.

Looking to continue his string of success, freshman 125-pounder Tony Comunale suffered two one-point losses. After going down 5-0 early to Davidson's Ben Altman, Comunale fought back hard only to lose his first match of the day. In his second match, he fell 4-3 against Duke's Kellon McKeon.

"I did a good job of controlling the pace of the matches," Comunale said. "In the first match I started a little slow. I knew I could've won it though."

Sophomore 133-pounder Robert Benitez was pinned in both his matches. He fell first to Davidson's Alex Rodsky and then to Duke's Bryan Gibson. Junior 157-pounder Aaron Casp fell 9-6 to Davidson's Joe McGinley and then suffered a 13-1 major decision loss to Duke's Voris Tejada. Freshman 174-pounder Travis Erdman lost by major decision to Davidson's Trevor Lauvette and fell to Duke's Ben Wales 5-2. Finally, sophomore 197-pounder Zach Morse won his first match by forfeit but was pinned by Duke's John Barone.

Princeton has been hampered by injuries of late. The Tigers were forced to forfeit the 141-, 149-, and 184-pound weight divisions, but the coming break for exams should help the team recuperate.

"The biggest thing the team needs is some time for rest and rejuvenation. We were plagued by injuries earlier in the season. Once exams are over and there is some time to focus on recovery, then I think the team will turn the corner," Ritter said.

It is important that the Tigers do not get too discouraged by their recent losses. As Princeton heads into its league season following break, it will be important maintain its confidence and aggressiveness.

"For league season, it'll be key that we stay positive. If we keep working hard and trying to move forward, we should finish out the season strong," Comunale said.

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As for break, Princeton holds abbreviated but intense practices so that the players are able to spend time studying while staying in wrestling shape.

"The next couple of weeks will be pretty intense. We'll have to buckle down, study hard, then get in practice and wrestle hard," Comunale said.

But while it'll be a tough couple of weeks for the Tigers between school and practice, the team will be able to refocus and prepare for the league season.

"The team will not have a problem with physical fitness," Ritter said. "The exam period will actually be a blessing in that we will have to focus on recovery."

Looking to the future, Princeton will head to Lancaster, Pa., to face Wilkes University and Franklin & Marshall in back-to-back dual meets on Feb. 2. The Franklin & Marshall matchup will mark the start of Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association league play for the Tigers and will begin a grueling stretch that continues at Brown and Harvard.

It will be up to the Tigers to recover and prepare themselves over the coming weeks for the trials and tribulations of the league season. The strong performances of Comunale, Alvarez and Ritter are promising, and if Princeton can get healthy in every weight division, it should be able to fulfill its potential.