Wrestling: Fox takedown seals win

The match was a high point for the Tigers, who struggled throughout the weekend’s three contests, including the opener Saturday morning against Harvard (2-10, 1-1). After No. 17 sophomore Garrett Frey opened the competition by winning his match, the Tigers took two of the next three matches to hold onto an early lead. Junior Daniel Kolodzik then stepped up to the mat to take on No. 8 Walter Peppelman.

“Daniel had a really tough match against a guy who is nationally ranked,” said junior Andy Lowy. “It was a tough match, and it didn’t go our way, but there’s really nothing you can do.”

With 174-pounder Ryan Callahan injured, the Tigers lost the next five upper-weight matches.

“We had to shuffle around the weights a little bit at the ’65 and ’74,” Lowy, who wrestled up a weight class, explained. “I think we were definitely a little handicapped not having Callahan and having to shuffle the weights around.”

These losses completed the Crimson comeback.

“We just weren’t able to build up the matches we needed to take down Harvard,” Lowy said succinctly.

The Tigers returned to the mat a few hours later for the emotional contest against Brown.

“I think we really felt we should have beaten Harvard, and we really went out there with a chip on our shoulder against Brown,” Kolodzik said.

“There was just a totally different feel to the [Brown] match,” Lowy confirmed. “I just feel like people just came out ready to wrestle.”

Despite this attitude, the Tigers lost three of the first four matches, falling into an early hole.

“If you look at the scores, even Brown started slow for us, but we were really able to build momentum,” Kolodzik said, “We just wouldn’t let ourselves lose.”

Raucus support from the Tigers’ fans also helped the team.

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“[The crowd] was great,” Kolodzik said of the team’s supporters. “There was a lot of cheering, and it was probably the biggest crowd we’ve had in a couple of years. It was just really exciting.”

After Kolodzik won his bout at the 157-pound spot, the Tigers picked up three of the next four matches, setting up Fox’s dramatic finish.

Although they were hopeful going into Sunday’s competition against Penn, a tired Tiger squad was handily defeated by the Quakers (9-4, 3-0). Princeton lost the first four matches and never recovered, winning only two individual matches.

“We didn’t really wrestle like we were going to win,” Lowy explained. “It was tough to start off with those losses. Everyone that went out on the mat for the most part felt like they were outmatched and didn’t come out with the same energy and excitement they did for Brown.”

“The two really intense, emotional matches [on Saturday] kind of wore on us,” Kolodzik added.

Despite the weekend’s struggles, the Tigers are eager to continue their season against Ivy League rival Columbia and the nation’s number one squad, Cornell, next Friday and Saturday, respectively. They return to Dillon Gymnasium for the season’s final two matches against Hofstra and Boston University on Feb. 19.