On Friday, sophomore 125-pounder Garrett Frey, freshman 133-pounder Adam Krop and sophomore 141-pounder Zach Bintliff suffered successive defeats to begin the Tigers’ match with Hofstra.
The 125-pounder bout featured two nationally ranked competitors in No. 18 Garrett Frey and the Pride’s No. 20 Steve Bonanno, and it was one of the weekend’s most anticipated matchups. Bonanno took the lead against Frey with an early two-point takedown, only to see the Princeton sophomore earn an escape point in both the first and second period. Bonanno held on in the third period, however, and came away with a 3-2 victory.
As junior 157-pounder Daniel Kolodzik took to the mat, the Tigers were down 15-0. The upperclassman — who came into the match with 20 victories under his belt — started off quickly, earning three near-fall points and a takedown to go into the second period with a 5-0 lead.
He then put his opponent on his back on three separate occasions in the second stanza, following up that performance with an escape in the third period to win his bout 16-0.
Wins at the 165- and 174-pound weight classes put Hofstra back in control of the match, and a quick one minute, 56 second victory by senior 184-pounder Travis Erdman — wrestling the final home matches of his career — was not enough to help Princeton to victory.
On Saturday, the Tigers faced BU to close out their home schedule.
Princeton won two of their first four bouts, as Frey and Bintliff both recorded victories at their respective weight classes.
Frey gained an early lead in his match with a takedown in the first period and came away with a 4-1 win. Bintliff, in one of the quickest matches of the weekend, pinned BU’s Jordan Frease in 41 seconds.
In the eighth match of the day, Erdman took on the Terriers’ Brock Mantello, who came into the bout with 23 regular-season wins. Behind by one point as the third period began, Erdman notched a takedown and three near-fall points to earn a 5-3 win.
The victory — which marked the final time that the senior would wrestle at Dillon — was the 17th of the season for Erdman and gave Princeton an 18-12 lead in the match.
Kolodzik and junior 165-pounder Andy Lowy also contributed strong wins on Sunday but a forfeit at the 174-pound weight class put the Tigers at a disadvantage.
By the time the day’s final bout began, Princeton was behind 18-15, and BU’s Kevin Innis defeated sophomore 285-pounder Charles Fox in a major decision to give the Terriers the victory.
The Tigers’ next test will come on March 4, when the team will travel to Lewisburg, Pa., to compete in the EIWA Championships.
Frey will likely find himself seeded in the 125-pound weight class while teammates Erdman and Kolodizk may potentially be seeded as well.
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