Players Mentioned
Nationally Ranked Opponents, EIWA Championships, Highlight Home Schedule
August 06, 2015 | Wrestling
Fresh off one its best postseason performances in program history, the Princeton wrestling team plans on showing its loyal home faithful just how much promise and talent it has during the upcoming season. The Tigers have a loaded home schedule, which includes both local rivals and national elite, and will cap the league season by once again hosting the EIWA Championships.
Princeton will host nine dual matches over six different dates, including showdowns against nationally ranked programs like Lehigh, Northwestern and Cornell, prior to the EIWA Championships, which will take place March 5-6 in Jadwin Gym. This is the sixth time that Jadwin will serve as host of the EIWAs, and the first since 2012.
“I couldn't be more excited about this schedule, especially with all of the matches taking place in Princeton,” head coach Chris Ayres said. “Obviously having the EIWAs in Jadwin is a thrill for our program, but we're also looking forward to hosting so many top programs throughout the season.
"We work hard to ensure that the schedule challenges our wrestlers and creates the best opportunity to both qualify and succeed at the NCAA Championships, and this year's schedule does just that," he added. "I am appreciative of Coach Gray's work to figure out the logistics of our schedule, as it is a monumental task given our academic calendar, and he somehow figured out how to fit in all these great teams."
The season officially begins Nov. 8 at the Binghamton Open, and a third straight trip to the Grapple at the Garden will take place Nov. 29. The Tigers will be hoping it is just the first trip of the year to Madison Square Garden, which will also serve as host of the NCAA Championships (March 17-19).
Both Northwestern (11 am) and Lehigh (2 pm) will travel to Dillon Gym Saturday, Dec. 5, for the first home date of the Princeton season. The Tigers will also host Navy (Dec. 11) before concluding the 2015 portion of the schedule at the prestigious Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30).
Princeton hosts three matches in late January, including an Ivy League dual with Penn (Jan. 30, 4 pm) and a Jadwin showdown with Rutgers (Jan. 31, 1 pm). This will be only the second dual match held in Jadwin over the last two decades; the first was a matchup with Rutgers two seasons ago that missed out on an expected large crowd because of a major snowstorm.
Princeton will host Columbia and Cornell Feb. 13 to cap the Ivy League schedule, and then will close out the regular season with a Feb. 18 home match against Rider. All home matches will be streamed live on the Ivy League Digital Network.
Princeton is coming off a season where it sent five wrestlers to the 2015 NCAA Championships, including two (Jordan Laster, Chris Perez) who reached the EIWA finals. All five wrestlers return this season, and are joined by another nationally ranked recruiting class.