Wrestling: Dillon Gym home to second win of season

“There were some bright spots, but also some moments where we just did not wrestle well,” head coach Chris Ayres said.

The Tigers started their break schedule Dec. 13 by welcoming Delaware State, Binghamton and the United States Merchant Marine Academy to Dillon Gym for a quad meet. Princeton’s first match of the day came down to the wire, with the Tigers eventually falling 24-18 to the Merchant Marine Academy. Junior 125-pounder Robert Benitez fell 6-0 in the first bout, and junior 133-pounder Nikhil Pereira picked up a victory by forfeit. The Mariners’ 141-pounder James Beshada then pinned Tiger freshman 133-pounder Daniel Kolodzik in four minutes, 37 seconds, helping the Academy open up a 9-6 lead.

The next match was a nail-biter, with junior 149-pounder Danny Scotton eventually losing 8-7. The bout helped widen the Academy’s lead to 12-6, and though Princeton would win two of the next three bouts, a heart-breaking overtime loss in the 184-pound class for sophomore Travis Erdman coupled with a forfeit at heavyweight gave the Mariners the victory.

The Tigers picked themselves right back up for the next match, throttling Delaware State 34-12. Princeton won all but two of the contested bouts in the match. Pereira picked up a major decision victory over Kevin Watford before Kolodzik pinned Christopher Dimattia. Princeton earned a forfeit victory at 149, and senior captain Marty Everin defeated Brandon Garner for his second win of the day.

After freshman Andy Lowy rebounded from a loss in the day’s first match with an 8-4 victory at 165 pounds, Kyle Skinner gave the Hornets another victory with a 6-0 decision over junior Mike Alvarez at 174. Erdman moved on from his earlier loss with a 10-8 victory over William Farrell before the teams traded forfeits in the 197-pound and heavyweight classes.

Princeton then fell 33-12 to Binghamton in the third match of the day. The match was highlighted by Kolodzik’s pin of Kareem Naguib, Everin’s 10-4 decision over Justin Lister and Erdman’s 11-4 victory over Anthony Esposito.

The next day, Princeton traveled to Maryland, where it was soundly defeated by a talent-laden Terrapin team that featured three nationally ranked wrestlers. Princeton’s only victory came in the bout’s last match, as freshman 184-pounder Brendel vanquished Owen Smith 5-1.

A week later, the Tigers headed west for the tri-meet in Millersville, Pa., where they took on Lock Haven and the hosts. Princeton didn’t fare well, falling 40-6 to Lock Haven before going down 34-13 to Millersville. Against Lock Haven, Lowy picked up the Tigers’ only win, defeating Dave Richmond by fall at 157 pounds. Erdman and Brendel went on to pick up wins against Millersville, with Erdman’s victory a decisive 14-5 major decision.

Princeton capped its 2008 with a trip to the Southern Scuffle, a two-day tournament held at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. The Tigers’ 10 wrestlers won 11 matches total, and Everin earned a berth in the quarterfinals.

“We wrestled best at the Southern Scuffle,” Ayres said. “We definitely got better and came back strong at the end.”

Everin started things off with two consecutive major decisions, earning him a spot in the round of 16. He then ground out a 6-4 victory over Cornell’s John Bastings, setting up a quarterfinal matchup with national No. 1 Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro. Gillespie ended Everin’s run with a technical-fall victory.

“Marty’s really committed himself to being one of the best wrestlers in the country,” Ayres said. “The good thing about him is he’s consistently improving and he’s sort of figuring out how to become the best competitor that he can be. He’s starting to get some more consistency across his matches, and I think he’s starting to believe himself. He’s really becoming a competitive leader for the team, and that’s so necessary in order for this program to take the next step, and we need someone to step up and be that consistent competitor.”

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Also picking up victories in the championship bracket were Kolodzik, Lowy, Erdman and Brendel. Lowy joined Everin in the round of 16 following a second win but was defeated by fall before reaching the quarterfinals.

Injuries should not be as much of an issue this season for Princeton as it heads down the stretch. Kolodzik has been moved to the 149-pound bracket, which will necessitate forfeits at 141, but freshman Stephen Turner should be back at heavyweight, and as the Tigers have depth at other weight classes, they should not have the same problems with forfeits as last year.