Princeton University Athletics
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Wrestling Heads To Empire State For Ivy Weekend, Faces No. 3 Cornell Saturday
February 13, 2009 | Wrestling
The Princeton wrestling team will compete in its final Ivy League weekend of the season when it travels to No. 3 Cornell Saturday and Columbia Sunday. The Tigers will see a host of nationally ranked wrestlers, the majority of which will be sporting red and white.
Princeton, which is forced to forfeit two weight classes (133 and 141) and lost EIWA placewinner Tony Comunale before the season, will look to garner some individual momentum heading into the 2009 EIWA championships, held March 7-8 at The Palestra in Philadelphia. Two wrestlers who are hoping to possibly gain a seed for the championships are 157-pound senior Marty Everin and 184-pound freshman Kurt Brendel. Both have 12-9 records on the season and both will face a nationally ranked competitor from Cornell.
Other Princeton wrestlers who are looking to build late-season momentum include 2008 All-Ivy honoree Travis Erdman (174) and 149-pound freshman Daniel Kolodzik, who has a .500 record since moving up from 141 pounds. Princeton will also likely be sending out Robert Benitez (125), Mike Alvarez (165), Zack Morse (197) and Stephen Turner (hwt).
The weekend will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. against the Cornell Big Red. Ranked third nationally, Cornell is 8-2 on the season and is likely to start seven wrestlers ranked in the national Top 20, including four who are ranked between first and sixth. Junior Troy Nickerson (125) and sophomore Mack Lewnes (165) are both undefeated and ranked first in the country, while senior Jordan Leen (157) is ranked third and won the 2008 NCAA title at his weight class. At 174 pounds, senior Steve Ancervage has won 21 matches and is ranked sixth.
Other ranked wrestlers for Cornell are Mike Grey (11th, 133), Justin Kerber (16th, 184) and Cam Simaz (14th, 197).
On Sunday, Princeton will head to New York City to take on Columbia (1 p.m.) and Drexel (3 p.m.). Columbia is 2-10 on the season and is led by sophomore Ryan Flores, who is ranked 13th nationally and will likely be the No. 1 seed at the weight class for the EIWA championships. Drexel is currently 7-14-1 and recently earned a 21-9 victory over Brown. The Dragons are
led by senior Jon Oplinger, who is currently ranked 12th nationally. The
197-pounder leads his team with a 24-3 record.