Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Wrestling Hits Road For Pair, Including Ivy Opener At No. 4 Cornell
January 29, 2015 | Wrestling
The academic schedule has been grueling for the Princeton wrestling team recently. The wrestling schedule is about to hit that level now.
Finals are now complete for Princeton, which stands 5-4 through the first half of the season. While the wrestling version of “finals” won't happen until March, the journey there begins this weekend with a pair of road matches for the Tigers.
And that journey begins against a Cornell team, which has won 66 straight Ivy League dual matches and is currently ranked fourth nationally in the Intermat dual meet rankings.
No reason to jump into the shallow end.
Princeton, which shared second place in the Ivy League last season, will take on Cornell (Friday, 7 pm) and Franklin & Marshall (Saturday, 6:30 pm) this weekend to start a stretch of nine matches over four weekends. The Cornell match, which will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network, will be the league opener for the Tigers; they will take on both Harvard and Brown next Saturday as part of a “Celebration of Princeton Wrestling.”
Of course, there is nothing Princeton would love to celebrate more than a shocker over the Big Red, and there are some interesting matchups that could unfold.
The EIWA's top two ranked wrestlers at 197 are Princeton's Abram Ayala (10th, InterMat) and Cornell's Jace Bennett (13th); the victor would at least be an early favorite for the top seed at EIWAs and potentially the Ivy League first team, though Harvard's James Fox will also be part of that discussion.
Princeton sophomore Brett Harner is 20-5 on the season, but he has yet to crack into the Top 20. He could stake his strongest claim Friday night with an upset of Cornell's Gabe Dean, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at the weight. Tiger senior Ryan Cash will also look for the biggest win of his career when he likely takes on reigning NCAA finalist Nahshon Garrett.
Franklin & Marshall is currently 2-5 on the season, and the Diplomats will host Princeton on Alumni Night.