One of the biggest problems the Tigers had this year was injuries. Senior 165-pound co-captain Johnny Clore had his career ended early in the season by a concussion, while 157-pound junior co-captain Marty Everin’s season was also marred by injury. The Class of 2011 saw its numbers dwindle early in the season, as 149-pounder Justin Spain suffered a season-ending broken foot while 184-pounder Anthony Salerno was unable to recover until the last few dual meets of the season.
But the bright spots were hard to miss for the Tigers. Second-year head coach Chris Ayres’ first recruiting class immediately began paying dividends with freshmen Tony Comunale and Travis Erdman both putting together solid seasons. Wrestling at 125 pounds, Comunale was Princeton’s first place-winner since 2005 at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) championships. The freshman notched an impressive sixth-place finish, highlighted by a win over five-seed Greg Hart of Bucknell, despite having to fight through an ankle injury in his last couple of bouts. Comunale was on the verge of winning a match against American’s Jason Borschoff that would have sealed an NCAA tournament berth, but he twisted his ankle and fell by an 8-6 score.
Comunale’s collegiate resume also includes a fourth-place finish at the East Stroudsburg Open, and — in his first collegiate wrestling action ever — a first-place finish at the Central Jersey Open.
Erdman earned an All-Ivy honorable mention to become the first Tiger to earn such honors in three years. The 174-pounder found himself in a very strong group at the EIWA tournament and was unable to place, but he finished the dual meet season with a number of impressive victories.
Comunale and Erdman got further help from senior walk-on Sam Ritter. Ritter, who was originally recruited to Princeton to play football and hadn’t played varsity sports in two years, started the season slowly but caught fire during the dual meet season. The heavyweight put together an impressive 10-3 record in dual meets before tearing cartilage in his ribs against Harvard.
Ayres, a Lehigh graduate who enjoyed a very successful collegiate career, proved his ability to recruit top-notch talent with the additions of Comunale and Erdman, and it won’t be surprising to see new faces turning heads on the mat once again next season for the Tigers.
The goal next year is simple.
“We will win dual meets, and if I don’t put three or four guys in the NCAA tournament, I’m not doing my job,” Ayres said.
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