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"The Best Win In Our Time Here" Highlights Wrestling Split At Bucknell
December 18, 2010 | Wrestling
In what fifth-year head coach Chris Ayres called "the best win in our time here," the Princeton wrestling team went on the road and upset a talented Bucknell squad 18-16 to complete a Friday tri-meet. Princeton nearly swept the day, but fell 18-17 to Drexel in a match that wasn't decided until riding time was counted in the final match.
For the sake of comparison, Princeton lost to Bucknell 38-6 and to Drexel 32-9 last season; in the span of one year, the Tigers went from -61 to +1 in terms of team points.
"The wins we had last year were great," Ayres said, "but Bucknell is the best team we've beaten since I've been here. We wrestled pretty well all day. The guys are really excited."
Following Bucknell's 34-9 win over Drexel in the middle match, Princeton opened a quick 12-0 lead over the Bison with wins in the first three weights. Sophomore Garrett Frey, ranked 11th at 125 pounds, fought off a tough Derek Reber for a 4-3 win. Frey had the only two takedowns of the match for the win.
After a forfeit win for Tony Comunale, sophomore Zach Bintliff completed a perfect day with a 5-1 win over Eric Harris. A takedown with 10 seconds remaining in the first period set the tone for the match, and he scored a reversal in the third to clinch the victory.
Freshman Brandon Rolnick posted one of the most impressive performances of his young career in defeat, as he went toe-to-toe with third-ranked Kevin LeValley in a 6-2 loss. Rolnick was the early aggressor, scoring a takedown 26 seconds into the match, but LeValley used a late takedown in the second to grab the lead and would hold on.
Junior Daniel Kolodzik wouldn't let momentum shift, and he also completed a perfect day with a 6-5 win over Brantley Hooks at 157 pounds. Kolodzik scored a first-period takedown and held a 3-1 lead in the third, but Hooks showed resilience with two takedowns in the third and temporarily held a lead, but Kolodzik got a quick escape and used a big edge in riding time to score the one-point win.
Both Jason Ott and Ryan Callahan lost in the next two matches, and it was up to senior captain Travis Erdman to get Princeton back in control. Neither he nor Joseph McMullan scored in the first period, but Erdman scored a takedown and two near-fall points to take a 4-3 lead into the third. McMullan battled back and forced overtime, but Erdman scored a takedown 39 seconds into the extra session to give Princeton an eight-point lead.
"Erdman is absolutely leading the team right now," Ayres said. "He won today with heart. He really wanted to see us get the team wins. I'm really proud of the way he competed today."
Freshman Dan Santoro and sophomore Bobby Grogan both wrestled hard in the final two matches and lost decisions, which kept Princeton ahead in the final team score.
Nine seconds of riding time was all that held Princeton from going overtime and possibly sweeping the day, but it was nine seconds of riding time in the heavyweight match that led Drexel to an 18-17 win in the first match of the tri-meet. The Tigers lost four other matches by no more than two points in suffering their fifth loss of the season.
After Princeton got a forfeit win at 125, Comunale tried to rally from a 4-1 hole in his 133-pound match. A takedown with 33 seconds remaining got him to 5-5, but Flank Climato escaped in time to both score a point and maintain his riding time advantage to seal a 7-5 win.
Bintliff picked up his 10th win of the season with an impressive display against Josh Yurasits at 141. He did so despite a slow start, as Yurasits scored the first two takedowns of the match to hold an early 4-1 lead and a 5-4 edge after the first period. Bintliff rode him through the entire second period to gain control of the match, and he scored both an escape and takedown in the first 35 seconds of the third and rode out to an 8-4 win.
Rolnick took on Austin Sommer at 149, and neither earned a point through the first period. Sommer took bottom to start the second and scored both an escape and a takedown to lead 3-1 entering the third. Rolnick escaped 1:19 into the third, but he never managed a takedown and was left on the wrong end of a 4-2 decision.
Kolodzik also picked up his 10th win of the season with a second-period technical fall against Charles Aungst. Kolodzik took total control of the match immediately, scoring a takedown 15 seconds in and recording one of his three first-period near falls at the 52-second mark. He led 10-0 after one period and scored a 16-0 win at the 4:49 mark. That left Princeton up 14-6, but Drexel ended up winning four of the final five to take the match.
After a 6-0 Dragon win over Greg Ott at 165, Justin Wieller scored the only takedown in a 4-0 win over Callahan at 174. Erdman knew Princeton needed a change in momentum, and he won a thriller over Shawn Fausey to get it done. Fausey used a first-period takedown and second-period escape to lead 3-1 heading into the third. Erdman, who made a habit of wild wins during his junior season, scored the winning points in the final seven seconds to clinch a 5-4 win.
The final two matches would be decided by one point apiece, but neither would go to Princeton. Santoro gave up a first-period takedown in his 3-2 loss to Brandon Palik at 197, and Grogan lost 2-1 at heavyweight in a match that featured only two escapes. Unfortunately for Princeton, Grogan took 1:15 of the third to escape and lost on nine seconds of riding time.
Princeton is now off until the Southern Scuffle, one of the premier collegiate tournaments of the year, which will be held Dec. 29-30 in Greensboro, N.C.
Princeton 18, Bucknell 16
*125: No. 11 Garrett Frey (P) dec. Derek Reber (B), 4-3
133: Tony Comunale (P) wins by forfeit
141: Zach Bintliff (P) dec. Eric Harris (B), 5-1
149: No. 3 Kevin LeValley (B) dec. Brandon Rolnick (P), 6-2
157: Daniel Kolodzik (P) dec. Brantley Hooks (B), 6-5
165: Corey Lear (B) dec. Jason Ott (P), 6-2
174: Stephen McPeek (B) dec. Ryan Callahan (P), 13-6
184: Travis Erdman (P) dec. Joe McMullan (P), 8-6 (sv)
197: Jay Hahn (B) maj. dec. Dan Santoro (P), 11-3
Hwt.: Conor Sweeney (B) dec. Bobby Grogan (P), 5-2
Drexel 18, Princeton 17
*125: No. 11 Garrett Frey (P) wins by forfeit
133: Frank Cimato (D) dec. Tony Comunale (P), 7-5
141: Zach Bintliff (P) dec. Josh Yurasits (D), 8-4
149: Austin Sommer (D) dec. Brandon Rolnick (P), 4-2
157: Daniel Kolodzik (P) tech. fall Charles Aungst (D), 18-0 (4:49)
165: Joe Booth (D) dec. Jason Ott (P), 6-0
174: Justin Wieller (D) dec. Ryan Callahan (P), 4-0
184: Travis Erdman (P) dec. Shawn Fausey (D), 5-4
197: Brandon Palik (D) dec. Dan Santoro (P), 3-2
Hwt.: Jamie Callender (D) dec. Bobby Grogan (P), 2-1
* Starting weight