Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
NCAA Day 1
Players Mentioned
Freshman Frey Falls In NCAA Opener, Advances In Consolation Draw
March 19, 2010 | Wrestling
In the EIWA final, freshman Garrett Frey fell to the second-ranked wrestler in the country. In his NCAA opener, he actually took a step up in competition. Indiana's Angel Escobedo, the undefeated top seed at 125 pounds, earned a major decision to advance to the second round and send Frey to the consolation round. Frey came back to defeat West Virginia's Shane Young to stay alive for All-America honors.
Escobedo opened the match with a takedown and used a tilt to score two near-fall points. After a Frey escape, the Indiana senior scored another takedown and two more near-fall points to earn an 8-1 lead through one period. Frey cut the deficit to 8-2 with an escape in a low-scoring second period, but Escobedo made sure there would be no drama in the third. Following an escape, he recorded a takedown and a pair of two-point near falls to take total control. Frey would escape, but Escobedo added a point for riding time to claim a 14-3 win.
In the first round of consolation wrestlebacks, Frey scored a first-period takedown to build a 2-0 lead over Young after one period. Frey took the down position to start the second and scored an escape, but Young recorded a takedown near the edge of the mat to get back within one point. A late escape gave Frey a 4-2 lead going into the third period.
Young chose the neutral position to start the third period, likely to avoid getting too far behind in riding time. He did even the score at 4-4 with his second takedown of the match and eventually got riding time to below one minute, but he still needed to ride Frey for the rest of the period. The resilient Princeton freshman from the Blair Academy made sure that wouldn't happen. He escaped and nearly recorded a takedown of his own, but he ended the match with a 5-4 victory for his 27th win of the season.
Frey will compete against 11th-seeded Michael Martinez of Wyoming to open the Friday morning session of wrestlebacks.
Frey, who upset the No. 2 and 3 seeds at the EIWA championships to earn a berth to the NCAA tournament, gave Princeton its first NCAA qualifier since Jake Butler reached the 197-pound championships in 2005.