Wrestling: Tigers shine in Bearcat Open

Standouts at the tournament included sophomore 125-pounder Garrett Frey, the runner-up at last year’s Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championship, who won his first three matches of the tournament efficiently and methodically. After losing his semifinal match against Old Dominion’s Eric Dunnet by a 3-1 margin, Frey found himself facing off against EIWA preseason No. 1 Frank Perelli of Cornell for third place. In dominating fashion, Frey took down Perelli in an 8-1 victory to clinch his third-place berth.

Freshmen Ryan Callahan and Adam Kropp, wrestling at 174 and 133 pounds, respectively, also had successful weekends, each placing in the top six of his weight class. Kropp began his tournament with a major decision (a victory by eight points or more) and an 11-4 victory before falling 3-2 to Columbia’s Matt Bystol. Then, in a series of tight matches, Kropp defeated opponents from Old Dominion and Binghamnton before falling to Binghamton’s Daniel Riggi to finish in sixth place.

Callahan earned a pin and a major decision before falling to Mack Lewnes of Cornell, the top wrestler at his weight division in the country and last year’s runner-up at 174 pounds in the NCAA tournament. Callahan then moved to the consolation bracket, where he won two consecutive bouts to finish fifth.

“[Callahan and Kropp] both [rose] to the occasion,” sophomore 141-pounder Luis Ramos said. “I know there will be good things to come from them in the future.”

Major contributions in the tournament came from Ramos and fellow sophomore 141-pounder Zach Bintliff, who each notched multiple victories. Ramos defeated Notre Dame’s Marty Carlson and blanked Rider University’s Kyle Hussey before falling in the third round to Penn’s Zach Kemmer. Bintlliff, who fell to Old Dominion’s Scott Festejo in the tournament’s opening round, tore through the consolation bracket, defeating Columbia’s Josh Houldsworth and Cornell’s Brett Henderson and Quin Leith before falling to Penn’s Rollie Peterkin.

“It’s different for every person,” Ramos said when asked where the team needs to improve. “For some, it’s going to mean improving technique, and for some it’s going to be about improving their fight.”

Other wins in the main draw came from senior 174-pounder Travis Erdman, who defeated Drexel’s Ethan Keiser; junior 157-pounder Daniel Kolodzik, who defeated Brown’s Gabe Brotzman; and freshman 149-pounder Brandon Rolnick, who took down Rider’s Nick Detsis.

“As a team we performed better than we have in the past, but we did not necessarily fulfill our own expectations,” Ramos said. “We expected that more of us, including myself, would place top six in the tournament.”

Though members of the team may have fallen short of their own expectations, the Tigers’ performance as a whole made plain the tremendous strides that Princeton has made over the last year. The Tigers took home almost as many wins in the main draws as they did overall last year — a sign that the team is ready to improve upon its third-place finish in the Ivy League last season.

“Even though we didn’t do as well as we expected, given the amount of improvement from last year to this year at the same point, I think the future of Princeton wrestling looks bright,” Ramos said.