Princeton University Athletics
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Wrestling Team Hosts Ivy Doubleheader Saturday Against Harvard, Brown
February 05, 2009 | Wrestling
The Princeton wrestling team will open the doors at Dillon Gym for its first home competition in eight weeks Saturday, and it will do so against a pair of Ivy League rivals. Harvard, which is led by a trio of potential All-Americas, will open the night with a 5:30 showdown against Princeton, while Brown will follow at 7:30.
Princeton has won two matches this season and has shown great improvement over the last two years, even if the team has struggled recently. Head coach Chris Ayres has had to forfeit two weight classes (133, 141) recently, which puts his team in a 12-0 hole before the match begins. While that has been an obstacle for team success, there has been individual success for the Tigers. Senior captain Marty Everin is having the best season of his career; he has a 12-8 record and won a pair of matches during the recent California road trip.
Another competitor coming off a good weekend is freshman Daniel Kolodzik, who moved into the 149-pound weight class and won twice last weekend. He is 7-6 overall and 4-3 at 149 pounds. Junior Mike Alvarez is looking to build off the momentum of a 5-3 win over Stanford's Victor Haug, a win Ayres felt might have been the best of Alvarez' career.
While the Crimson has only one team win on the season, it will bring in three of the EIWA's most talented wrestlers. Corey Jantzen (141), J.P. O'Connor (157) and Louis Caputo (184) are all ranked among the national Top 10 at their weight class, and both Jantzen and O'Connor are among the top five. While Jantzen will likely receive a forfeit win, O'Connor will probably take on Everin; for Princeton's captain, it is a chance to earn some league-wide respect before the EIWA championships (March 7-8 at Penn).
Brown has two wins on the season, although senior Matthew Gevelinger has won 14 matches at 184 pounds. Both Caputo and Gevelinger should prove to be tough tests for Princeton freshman Kurt Brendel, who is second on the team with 11 wins this season.