Wrestling: Dwindling roster remains a large challenge

As was the case last season, Princeton has been spread thin by injuries. The Tigers will forfeit matches in the 133- and 141-pound weight brackets for the remainder of the season. This will make winning dual meets difficult, as Princeton will cede 12 points in every match.

The team’s focus going down the stretch will be on individuals. Head coach Chris Ayres has stuck to his goal of getting at least one of his wrestlers to the NCAA tournament.

“It’s really an individual approach, and we’re just looking at the individuals and how we’re going to get somebody to nationals,” Ayres said.

But Princeton is still dangerous. Harvard and Brown have only one dual-meet victory between them, so both matches will be competitive. The Harvard match is particularly interesting, as the Crimson will forfeit the 125-pound weight bracket, ceding six points back to the Tigers.

“[Against Harvard] I think we’re favored in a lot of the matches,” Ayres said. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, we should win more matches than them.”

The Crimson boast three nationally ranked wrestlers, but it is possible that only one of them will take the mat. No. 4 Corey Jantzen will win by forfeit at 141 pounds, while 184-pounder Louis Caputo, ranked at No. 10, was injured last week and might not wrestle this weekend.

This leaves Harvard 157-pounder J.P. O’Connor, ranked No. 4 in the nation. He will provide a great test for senior captain Marty Everin, the Tiger’s ace. Everin might not have the accolades that O’Connor does, but he has at times shown the ability to wrestle at a very high level.

“Marty just has to open up and be the wrestler that he can be,” Ayres said. “He had his best week of practice of the year this week. He’s focused, excited and confident. He’s just got to lay it on the line. It could be a turning point for Marty if he wrestles the way he can wrestle.”

At 149 pounds, Princeton freshman Daniel Kolodzik will face Harvard’s Walter Peppelman, another heralded high-school recruit. The matchup will be a big one for Kolodzik, who will be seeing his first serious test since switching to 149 pounds from 141 pounds.

Caputo would be a great challenge for freshman 184-pounder Kurt Brendel, but for now Caputo’s status for the upcoming meet remains unclear.

Currently, the Bears do not have any wrestlers ranked nationally. They have yet to win a dual meet so far this season but came close in a 21-16 loss to Army. The one advantage they have that Harvard does not is a healthy lineup.

“Brown has a full lineup, which makes it kind of hard, but in this situation I’m not going to be happy unless we win the majority of the contested matches,” Ayres said.

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The theme of this weekend will be continued improvement for each individual. While it will be difficult to win against a Brown team that will effectively start the match up 12-0, the Harvard match is well within the Tigers’ reach.

“We need to win more matches than we lose,” Ayres said. “And if we do that against Harvard, we could have a shot.”

Though the Tigers will have to forfeit in certain weight classes, they may have a shot at taking down Harvard on home turf this weekend.