Wrestling: Tigers get first win on mat

“Going into the dual [against Franklin & Marshall], I knew we could win it,” head coach Chris Ayres said.

As has been the case all too often over the past few seasons, Princeton went into the match a man down. Freshman heavyweight Stephen Turner’s injury surrendered six automatic points to the Diplomats at the end of the match.

In the first match, junior 125-pounder Robert Benitez was defeated 7-2 by Stephen Sabreen. The Diplomats took a 3-0 lead, but the result was still a positive, as Sabreen had pinned Benitez the previous year.

“I had anticipated that [the match at 125 pounds] could go that way again, but he did his job and kept it to a decision,” Ayres said. “Even though he lost, it was really a win for the team.”

The next matches would be crucial and closely contested for the Tigers. Princeton started picking up steam in the 133-pound bracket, as junior Nikhil Pereira faced off against Matt Murray. The match was excruciatingly tight, with Pereira eventually taking the decision 3-2. An early takedown, coupled with an escape and a solid defensive effort, gave Pereira all the points he needed, bringing the overall score to 3-3.

“He went out, and he got a lead and really did his job and got the win,” Ayres said.

At 141 pounds, freshman Dan Kolodzik — Ayres’ first nationally ranked recruit and a two-time Ohio state champion — made his collegiate debut. Kolodzik shined, demolishing Franklin & Marshall’s Frank Higgins 18-2. The win gave Princeton an 8-3 lead that proved insurmountable.

“He did a great job getting an added extra point at the buzzer to get the technical fall,” Ayres said.

The next match was arguably the turning point of the contest. With the opportunity to take a sizeable lead, junior 149-pounder Danny Scotton took the mat and wrestled one of the best matches of his career.

“Out of everyone, him and [freshman 184-pounder Kurt] Brendel both had a really good day,” Ayres said. “I was really pleased with Danny.”

Scotton took an 11-9 victory over Al Gianforti, pushing the score to 11-3. The scent of victory was already in the air when senior captain Marty Everin blasted James DiNicola 17-4 at 157 pounds. Everin’s victory pushed the score to 15-3 at the halfway point of the match.

“Marty did his job, got it done,” Ayres said.

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With six automatic points yet to be added to Franklin & Marshall’s tally, however, the Tigers knew that the match was far from over. In stepped junior 165-pounder Mike Alvarez.

“With 30 or 40 seconds left, he got into this crazy scramble and just fought through it and really scored right at the end,” Ayres said. “Once he won, I figured we should win the match.”

Trailing 6-5 late in the third period, Alvarez rallied with a takedown and two back points to take a 9-6 victory over Anthony Bongarzone. But the 18-3 deficit did not faze the Diplomats, who fired back with a technical-fall victory at 174 to close the gap to 10 points.

“Travis had toughest guy on the team, and that match didn’t really go well for us,” Ayres said.

Despite the big loss at 174, the Tigers found themselves one win away from team victory with two matches left. With all the pressure on his back, Brendel stepped up to the challenge. Not only did the freshman ensure victory for Princeton, he did it in style, pulverizing Jimmy Schulz, 14-3. Junior 197-pounder Zach Morse iced the cake with a 6-1 decision over Colin Ely. Even with the forfeit, the final score was a convincing 25-14.

“I was really happy for the kids,” Ayres said. “They’ve gone through a lot of adversity. They’ve been working so hard, and it was about time they got the result they deserved.”

Victory brought a sense of relief to the team. Princeton has finally gotten the monkey off its back, so to speak, and can now focus on further improvement.

“It was definitely good to get the first one out of the way,” Everin said. “There’s only three guys on the team that have been around long enough to have won a dual meet in college, so it was great for a lot of the other guys to finally get a win.”

The Tigers were then defeated 38-6 by a powerful Rutgers team, with Scotton’s 10-5 decision over Dave Seidenberg and Brendel’s 5-3 decision over Keith Dobish the only bright spots in the match. Erdman also came close to winning but fell short in a 10-8 loss at the hands of Matt Rigoglioso.

While the weekend ended on something of a sour note, the importance of the win cannot be underestimated. After years of hard work, Princeton finally proved to itself that it’s capable of winning.

“It’s huge for them,” Ayres said. “I think they think they should win with all the training we do and what we’re preaching to them … But they really do believe it, and I think that’s a process that really takes time: to get that belief that you should win. I think this win is a huge step towards getting them towards that.”

“It was pretty incredible,” Alvarez said. “From the time I’ve got here, we’ve been working really hard. We were met with little success my freshman year and individual success my sophomore year, but to finally win as a group was a pretty special feeling. I’ll definitely remember it.”

The Tigers will welcome three opponents to Princeton this Saturday, as the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Delaware State and Binghamton will take the mat at Dillon Gym.

Binghamton 184-pound junior Josh Patterson came into the season ranked 17th nationally, while Delaware State 149-pound sophomore Matt Cathell was ranked 13th. The matches will be trying, but with a victory finally under their belts, the Tigers could be poised for another win.

“We need to continue to work hard in the room and keep fighting in all of our matches,” Scotton said. “Coach is really big on that. No matter what the score is we’re just focused on scoring the next point. We’ve faced some really good teams already, and we’ve gone toe to toe with some guys. We just have to keep on fighting.”

Princeton’s first victory has already made a strong impression on the team’s morale.

“At this point, I think it’s ok for everyone to start increasing their expectations,” Everin said. “We got a team win, we had some people winning some pretty big matches. It’s ok to start believing we should be winning, and I think we need a lot of guys to start doing that.”