Princeton University
Columbia
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Freshmen Continue Winning Ways In Ivy Loss To Columbia
February 16, 2008 | Wrestling
Freshmen Tony Comunale and Travis Erdman continued their strong freshman seasons by picking up victories against Ivy League rival
After a scoreless first period, Comunale fought off an early reversal attempt by maintaining a hold on his opponent's leg. It would allow ultimately result in a stalemate, but his resilience was rewarded as he maintained control for the rest of the period to keep it scoreless and maintain a two-minute advantage of riding time.
Comunale was allowed to escape in the opening seconds of the third period, and he came up with a critical takedown early in the period to grab a 3-0 lead. He would allow an escape, but he fought off all final takedown attempts to claim a 4-1 win.
Sophomore Robert Benitez picked up a forfeit win at 133 pounds, which gave Princeton a 9-0 lead, but the Tigers had to forfeit both weight classes in the 140s and trailed 12-9 when Matt Katz took the mat for 157 pounds. His opponent, Matt Dunn, took control of the match from the start and earned enough back points to clinch a 17-0 technical fall in the middle of the second period.
Alex Enriquez trailed 2-0 early in the first period of his 165-pound match against Victor Mocco, but he rallied with an escape and an aggressive takedown to hold a brief 3-2 lead in the period. Mocco fought for a reversal in the waning seconds of the period, which gave him both the lead and momentum going into the final four minutes. Mocco would add another escape and takedown before holding on for a 9-4 victory.
Erdman ignited the crowd in the opening seconds of his 174-pound match with a quick takedown of Travis Creagan. It looked briefly like he might have an opening for bonus points, but Creagan did a nice job fighting it off and eventually escaped to maintain a 2-1 deficit going into the second period. The Columbia freshman rode Erdman the full two minutes to earn an advantage in riding time, and he evened the score at 2 with a quick escape in the first period. Needing a takedown, Erdman got in deep with a double-leg and took Creagan to the mat in the final 20 seconds to earn an exciting 4-3 win.
Sophomore Mike Alvarez bumped up to 184 pounds to take on Mike Wolfer and gave a spirited effort before falling 9-7. Alvarez trailed early but stayed off his back and managed two takedowns, including one in the final 20 seconds of the match, but Wolfer avoided any back points to clinch the win.
Columbia senior Nick Sommerfield closed the actual wrestling with a pin in 4:32 over Princeton sophomore Zack Morse at 197 pounds, and Columbia's Lou Miller picked up a forfeit win at heavyweight to conclude a 35-12 Ivy League win for the Lions.
COLUMBIA 35, PRINCETON 12
125 ? Tony Comunale (P) d. Brandon Kinney 4-1 (P, 3-0)133 ? Robert Benitez (P) wins by forfeit (P, 9-0)
141 ? Marc Zurla (C) wins by forfeit (P, 9-6)
149 ? Anthony Constantino (C) wins by forfeit (C, 12-9)
157 ? Matt Dunn (C) tf. Matt Katz 17-0 (C, 17-9)
165 ? Victor Mocco (C) d. Alex Enriquez 9-4 (C, 20-9)
174 ? Travis Erdman (P) d. Travis Creagan 4-3 (C, 20-12)
184 ? Mike Wolfer (C) d. Mike Alvarez 9-7 (C, 23-12)
197 ? Nick Sommerfield (C) p. Zach Morse 4:32 (C, 29-12)
HWT ? Lou Miller (C) wins by forfeit (C, 35-12)
CORNELL 48, PRINCETON 0
125 - Mike Rodriquez d. Tony Comunale 9-8133 - Mike Grey p. Robert Benitez 1:17
141 - Nick Bridge wins by forfeit
149 - DJ Meagher wins by forfeit
157 - Jordan Leen p. Matt Katz :58
165 - Joe Hooker p. Mike Alvarez 4:15
174 - Steve Anceravage p. Travis Erdman 1:31
184 - Josh Arnone wins by forfeit
197 - Justin Kerber d. Zach Morse 6-2
HWT - No Contest