After a strong 3-1 finish at the Windy City Duals last weekend, the wrestling team (3-1, 0-0 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) will take on conference rival Binghamton University (1-4, 0-0 EIWA) Friday evening for the Tigers’ first home match of the season. A near-toppling of No. 19 Northwestern University last Saturday turned enough heads to nearly throw the Tigers into the Top 25 in the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, as Princeton was the top vote-getting team outside of the Top 25.
While some unranked teams would have been pleased with a 21-18 defeat to a tough Northwestern squad, the loss was devastating for the Tigers and has motivated them in this week’s preparation for Binghamton.
“We just gotta keep continuing to get better,” head coach Chris Ayres said. “We let it slip away at Northwestern, but we’re getting better. The team’s expectation is that every guy thinks he can win, but of course the other team thinks otherwise. But they’re confident right now. Our guys see that we’re better than 26th in the country, and they’ll try to make a statement in this match.”
“We were in a position to close the deal [against Northwestern], and we did not do that,” assistant coach Sean Gray said. “One of our main focuses this week is that when we’re in a position to shut guys down and close the deal on close matches, we have to have the confidence and know how to do that. We’ve worked this week on developing that mindset that will help us make a small jump now but will be monumental when we get to big-time matches at the EIWA Tournament and NCAA Tournament.”
With vast success from a number of starters so far this season, the Tigers hope to dismantle a scrappy Binghamton squad that they defeated 27-5 on the road last season. And with increased confidence and performance from a number of starters, such as sophomore 141-pounder Jordan Laster, the grapplers look well-positioned to do just that.
“I work a lot with Jordan, and he’s made huge jumps from September to now, never mind from last season tip now,” assistant coach Joe Dubuque said. “He’s a kid who’s not afraid to work hard. I think he’s in it to win every single match that he’s in.”
“We have five guys who have shown they can compete nationally: Laster, [senior 149-pounder Adam] Krop, [freshman 165-pounder Jonathan] Schleifer, [sophomore 184-pounder Brett] Harner, and [junior 197-pounder Abram] Ayala,” Gray said. “When you have five guys competing at a national level in the room, that raises the intensity of the room.”
After Friday’s match, the Tigers will stay on campus until Dec. 21, when they head to Madison Square Garden to take on EIWA rivals No. 12 Lehigh University and Army at the Grapple at the Garden. Match time against Binghamton is set for 7 p.m. Friday evening in Dillon Gymnasium.
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