Kolodzik Officially Opens Sophomore Season With Navy Classic Title; Tigers Place Fifth Overall

Saturday, November 18

Annapolis, Md.

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Princeton University

Navy Classic

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Kolodzik Officially Opens Sophomore Season With Navy Classic Title; Tigers Place Fifth Overall

November 18, 2017 | Wrestling

COMPLETE RESULTS

Sophomore All-American Matthew Kolodzik officially opened his season in impressive fashion Saturday, as he won the 149-pound weight class to help the Princeton wrestling team to a fifth-place finish at the 2017 Navy Classic.

Kolodzik, whose match at the NWCA All-Star Classic was technically an exhibition, opened his 2017-18 season with a 4-0 record, a mark that included his 8-4 win over Michael Sprague of American University in the final.

Princeton had four placewinners in the event, including junior Mike D'Angelo, who pinned Kent State's Casey Sparkman in the third period of his third-place match at 157 pounds. Senior captain Jonathan Schleifer also reached the third-place match at 165 pounds, though he dropped a tough 7-5 match in the second tiebreaker to Quentin Perez of Campbell.

Freshman Patrick Brucki, who won his collegiate debut at the Princeton Open two weeks ago, finished sixth at 197 pounds.

Kolodzik, who became the first Princeton freshman to earn All-America honors last year, opened his day with a tight 7-4 win over Nick Monico of Kent State, and then he scored an 8-1 decision over Davey Tunon of Indiana. He was dominant in his semifinal, a 14-2 major over Kenan Carter of Old Dominion, and then he closed with the 8-4 win over Sprague, a veteran from EIWA rival American.

Both D'Angelo and Schleifer joined Kolodzik in the championship semifinal round, but both fell one match short of the finals. D'Angelo, who made his NCAA Championships debut last year, fell in a tight 5-2 loss to Old Dominion's Larry Early, while Schleifer dropped a 6-3 decision to Bryce Martin of Indiana.

Navy won its home Classic with 112.5 points, while Purdue took second with 100.5, two points ahead of third-place Old Dominion. Indiana (81.5) edged Princeton (74.5) for fourth place, while the Tigers topped American by two points to hold a top-five position.

Princeton will open its dual match season on Friday, Dec. 1, when it welcomes Lehigh to Dillon Gym. The Mountain Hawks will be one of seven teams currently listed in the InterMat Top 25 dual meet rankings that Princeton will face between December and February.