Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
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Wrestling Tops Hofstra 33-9, Falls To Two Ranked Squads On Grapple Sunday
November 29, 2015 | Wrestling
Princeton nearly pulled off an upset later in the day; despite splitting the 10 matches against 13th-ranked Illinois, bonus points handed the Fighting Illini a 20-15 victory.
Princeton won seven of the 10 matches in the opener against Hofstra, including the first career dual wins for freshmen Pat D'Arcy (125) and Mike D'Angelo (149). D'Arcy scored a third-period pin over Bryan Damon in the first match of the day, and D'Angelo scored a 3-2 win over Ryan Burkert at 149.
The 10th-ranked duo of Abram Ayala (184) and Brett Harner (197) both won their matches, including a first-period fall by Harner.
Junior Jordan Laster nearly upset one nationally ranked opponent in the opener (a 14-12 loss), but he came back with a victory against an even higher ranked opponent in the second match. Laster topped 13th-ranked Anthony Abidin 2-1 for Princeton's first points against Nebraska.
Senior Chris Perez followed that effort with one of the best matches of the entire event. Two years after tearing his ACL at the 2014 Grapple, Perez won a 12-10 shootout against fifth-ranked Jake Sueflohn to get the Tigers back within one point.
Nebraska got wins from four straight Top-15 wrestlers, including a 7-5 overtime win for 7th-ranked TJ Dudley over Ayala at 184, but Harner came back with a 3-1 overtime win at 197. Junior Ray O'Donnell gave the Tigers another ranked victory at 285, as he defeated 13th-ranked Collin Jensen 5-4 for one of the biggest wins of his collegiate career.
The Tigers won three of the first four against Illinois, including another victory over a ranked foe by Perez (#19 Kyle Langenderfer) and a 2-1 win by freshman Pat D'Arcy, but Illinois won four straight in the middle and upper weights to build an insurmountable lead. Harner completed his perfect day with a 3-2 win, and O'Donnell built on his momentum from the Nebraska victory with a 4-3 win at 285 against the nation's 14th-ranked wrestler.
It won't get any easier for Princeton next weekend, when the Tigers compete in their home openers against both No. 20 Northwestern (11 am) and No. 6 Lehigh (2 pm) on Saturday, Dec. 5.
"It's fun, because we're competing with the best teams in the country, and we had our chances," head coach Chris Ayres said. "We split with Illinois, but didn't get the bonus points, and we had our chances with Nebraska. It was a great day for guys like Chris Perez and Ray O'Donnell. Those were big wins for those guys, especially Ray, who has really taken a big step since last year."
Princeton 33, Hofstra 9
125 – Patrick D'Arcy (P) p. Bryan Damon 5:25
133 – Trey Aslanian (P) wins by forfeit
141 – #16 Jamel Hudson (H) dec. Jordan Laster 14-13
149 – Mike D'Angelo (P) dec. Ryan Burkert 3-2
157 – Francesco Fabozzi (P) mdec. Jahlani Callender 11-3
165 – Judd Ziegler (P) mdec. Bobby Fehr 16-5
174 – Frank Affronti (H) dec. #11 Jonathan Schleifer 2-0
184 – #10 Abram Ayala (P) mdec. Cory Damiana 12-3
197 – #10 Brett Harner (P) p. Omar Haddad 1:14
285 – Mike Hughes (H) v. Ray O'Donnell 4-2
#4 Nebraska 21, Princeton 12
125 – #12 Tim Lambert (N) dec. Patrick D'Arcy 3-1
133 – #10 Eric Montoya (N) mdec. Trey Aslanian 17-5
141 – Jordan Laster (P) dec. #13 Anthony Abidin 2-1
149 – Chris Perez (P) dec. #5 Jake Sueflohn 12-10
157 – #11 Tyler Berger dec. Francesco Fabozzi 10-3
165 – #4 Austin Wilson TF Judd Ziegler 16-1
174 – #15 Micah Barnes (N) dec. #11 Jonathan Schleifer 7-4
184 – #7 TJ Dudley (N) dec. #10 Abram Ayala 7-5, SV-1
197 – #10 Brett Harner (P) dec. Derek White 3-1, SV-1
285 – Ray O'Donnell (P) dec. #13 Collin Jensen 5-4
#13 Illinois 20, Princeton 15
125 – Patrick D'Arcy (P) dec. Francis Edelen 2-1
133 – #11 Zane Richards (I) TF Trey Aslanian 25-10
141 – Jordan Laster (P) dec. Brock Ervin 5-2
149 – Chris Perez (P) dec. #18 Kyle Langenderfer 11-8
157 – #1 Isaiah Martinez (I) TF Francesco Fabozzi 17-2
165 – #16 Steven Rodrigues (I) mdec. Judd Ziegler 14-3
174 – #9 Zac Brunson (I) dec. Jonathan Schleifer 12-7
184 – #18 Jeffrey Koepke (I) dec. Abram Ayala 6-3
197 – Brett Harner (P) dec. Andre Lee 3-2
285 – Ray O'Donnell (P) dec. #14 Brooks Black 4-3