Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
EIWA Championships Day 1
Players Mentioned
Six Advance, Including Four To Semis, During Strong Day 1 At EIWA Champs
March 06, 2015 | Wrestling
DAY 1 BRACKETS l EIWA CHAMPIONSHIPS
TWITTER: @TigerWrestling l @2015EIWA l @PUTIgers l @PUTigers_Live
Chris Perez has wrestled at four different weights over three seasons, and he has torn his ACL three different times. If he hasn't given in yet, the quarterfinal round of the 2015 EIWA Championships certainly wasn't going to be the time.
Perez was one of four Princeton wrestlers to advance to Saturday's semifinal round of the EIWA Championships, being held this weekend at Lehigh's Stabler Arena. Perez will join Jordan Laster (141), Jonathan Schleifer (165) and Abram Ayala (197) in the morning semifinal round.
Two others are also in the hunt for a trip to the NCAA Championships, as senior Rich Eva (157) and sophomore Ray O'Donnell (285) will continue competition in the consolation round Saturday.
Princeton is currently sixth in the EIWA standings, though the Tigers are only 6.5 points behind third-place Columbia.
Perez was the lowest-seeded Princeton wrestler to reach the semifinals, and he pulled it off in dramatic fashion. Following a 7-2 win over Thomas Quinlan of F&M, he took on third-seeded Cody Ruggirello of Hofstra. Perez spent much of the first period defending shots by Ruggirello, but he found his offense and hit a double to grab the first takedown. Ruggirello scored a pair of escapes to send the match into the third period even at 2-2; the coaching staff told Perez to take neutral, believing he had another takedown in him.
Their faith was rewarded. Perez got in on another double, and added back points to relieve any late drama, to post a 7-2 quarterfinal win. The 2012 placewinner will now face second-seeded CJ Cobb of Penn; Cobb defeated Perez 6-1 during a regular season dual match two weeks ago.
Schleifer proved that results can be reversed, though. After a fall in the first round, the fifth-seeded Schleifer knocked out Penn's fourth-seeded Raamiah Bethea 2-1. Bethea had won a high-scoring overtime match two weeks ago, but Schleifer stayed in control in the rematch. The Ivy League Rookie of the Year, the first in Princeton history, scored a quick escape in the first period and then clinched an extra point with a dominant third-period ride. Bethea escaped late, but Schleifer stayed on his feet to secure the 2-1 win.
Schleifer will face top-seeded Peyton Walsh of Navy in the semifinal. The two met in the final of the Navy Classic, where Walsh scored an 11-10 win.
The first Princeton semifinalist was sophomore Jordan Laster, who posted back-to-back 5-3 wins to reach his first semifinal. His quarterfinal matchup was also even in the third period, but Laster had the answer with a late takedown to clinch the win. It was reminiscent of his victory over Penn's Jeff Canfora from two weeks ago, when his escape at the buzzer and overtime takedown secured a tense win.
Laster's path to the final was expected to include a showdown with top-seeded Todd Preston of Harvard, but Preston suffered an injury in the quarterfinal round. Laster will now face eighth-seeded David Pearce of Drexel; they haven't met this season.
Top-seeded Ayala looked terrific in his first two matches. He opened with a technical fall, and then defeated American's Brett Dempsey 12-6 in the quarterfinal. Ayala will face fourth-seeded Canaan Bethea of Penn; Ayala topped him 6-5 in a tight match at the Palestra two weeks ago.
Unfortunately for Princeton, its hope for a semifinalist at 184 ended with an injury default for sophomore Brett Harner, who earned the third seed after defeating two returning All-Americas during February. Harner, who has a strong RPI, will now have to wait for the NCAA selection committee to determine if he receives an at-large bid.
Eighth-seeded sophomore Ray O'Donnell gave Princeton five quarterfinalists when he scored a 15-0 technical fall in his opening match. He was the lone Tiger to fall in the second round of matches, as top-seeded Tyler Deuel of Binghamton defeated him in the quarterfinal by a technical fall, but O'Donnell — wrestling just minutes from Saucon Valley High School, where he won a Pennsylvania state championship — continued his tournament with a 6-2 win over Penn's Patrik Garren. O'Donnell had lost to Garren two weeks earlier, but he avenged that result.
Senior Rich Eva, who did not wrestle once during the last two seasons due to a variety of injuries, is one win away from reaching the NCAA Championships during his final year. The task will be a daunting one, though, as he will face second-seeded Mitchell Minotti of Lehigh in the seventh-place match; the Top 7 of this weight will advance to the NCAAs.
Eva opened with a 7-0 loss to fifth-seeded Markus Scheidel of Columbia, but bounced back with a 6-1 win over Casey Mitchell of Sacred Heart. He advanced to the placewinner round with an injury default, and will wrestle for NCAAs Saturday morning. He can get there with either a win over Minotti or a win in the seventh-place match.
Senior Ryan Cash drew the short straw at 125, as he opened the tournament against top-seeded Nahshon Garrett of Cornell. Cash got caught and pinned, and after a bye to open the consolation round, he fell to seventh-seeded Johnson Mai of Columbia.
Junior Judd Ziegler was also eliminated from the Championships during the final consolation round of the day. Despite scoring the first takedown of the match against second-seeded Brian Harvey of Army, he fell 10-5 in his first match. Ziegler scored an 11-4 win over Hofstra's Frank Affronti, but was eliminated by eighth-seeded Richard McDonald of Brown 10-3.
Freshman Jordan Reich got his first taste of the EIWA Championships at 133, and he scored his first postseason win along the way. He opened with a 4-1 loss to eighth-seeded Travis Passaro of Hofstra, but bounced back with a 9-7 win over Joe Nelson of Binghamton. His season ended against seventh-seeded Grimaldi Gonzales, who scored a 13-5 major decision.
125 – Ryan Cash
1st R – #1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) WBF Ryan Cash 1:41
C1 – bye
C2 –#7 Johnson Mai (Columbia) maj. dec. Cash 11-2
133 – Jordan Reich
1st R – #8 Travis Passaro (Hofstra) dec. Jordan Reich 4-1
C1 – Jordan Reich dec. Joe Nelson (Binghamton) 9-7
C2 –#7 Grimaldi Gonzales (Bucknell) maj. dec. Reich 13-5
141 – #4 Jordan Laster
1st R – Jordan Laster dec. Michael Sprague (American) 5-3
QF – Laster dec. #5 Tyler Smith (Bucknell) 5-3
SF – Laster vs. #8 David Pearce (Drexel)
149 – #6 Chris Perez
1st R – Chris Perez dec. Thomas Quinlan (F&M) 7-2
QF – Perez dec. #3 Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) 7-2
SF – Perez vs. #2 CJ Cobb (Penn)
157 – Rich Eva
1st R – #5 Markus Scheidel (Columbia) dec. Rich Eva 7-0
Cons 1 – Eva dec. Casey Mitchell (Sacred Heart) 6-1
Cons 2 – Eva wins by injury default
Cons 3 – Eva vs. #2 Mitchell Manotti (Lehigh)
165 – #5 Jonathan Schleifer
1st R – Jonathan Schleifer WBF Matt Fischer (Sacred Heart)
QF – Schleifer dec. #4 Raamiah Bethea (Penn) 2-1
SF – Schleifer vs. #1 Peyton Walsh (Navy)
174 – Judd Ziegler
1st R – #2 Brian Harvey (Navy) dec. Judd Ziegler 10-5
C1 – Ziegler dec. Frank Affronti (Hofstra) 11-4
C2 - #8 Richard McDonald (Brown) dec. Ziegler 10-3
184 - #3 Brett Harner
R1 – Jack Mckeever (Bing) wins by medical forfeit
197 - #1 Abram Ayala
R1 – Abram Ayala TF Charles Kerkesner (F&M) 19-4
QF – Ayala dec. #8 Brett Dempsey (American) 12-6
SF – Ayala vs. #4 Canaan Bethea (Penn)
285 - #8 Ray O'Donnell
R1 – Ray O'Donnell TF Colynn Cook (Navy) 16-0
QF – Tyler Deuel (Binghamton) TF Ray O'Donnell 21-5
C2 – O'Donnell Patrik Garren (Penn)