WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- The Ephs, ranked first in
New England and 17th nationally, hosted their final meet
of the year against Hunter College, NYU, and a strong squad from
The College of New Jersey, ranked 11th nationally. The Ephs
continued their impressive streak of wrestling and won all three of
their matches.
The victory over TCNJ was a milestone victory for Williams
wrestling. TCNJ is a five-time national champion and is ranked
first in their conference. In over ten years of dual meets, no
group of Eph grapplers had ever defeated the Lions of TCNJ until
today.
The grapplers' matches against Hunter College and NYU were never in question; Williams won both matches by healthy margins. They defeated Hunter College 35-12 and NYU 29-12.
Against TCNJ, the Ephs were faced with one of their toughest
tests of the season. Williams got off to a strong start with
lightweight Josh Mattana, who went 3-0 on the day, scoring a major
decision over Dan Franke.
In the third match Dylan Rittenburg tipped the match momentum
firmly into the Ephs hands with a pin of Robert Micheliche in only
fifty seven seconds. Corey Paulish, also undefeated on the day, and
Carl Britenstien teamed up to extend the Eph lead to 16-3. However,
TCNJ refused to quit as the wrestlers got heavier, the level of
competition also increased.
TCNJ was able to put out four of their strongest wrestlers, three
of whom are ranked nationally, in the subsequent matches and won
the Lions won all four. Going into the final two matches of
the meet the Ephs found themselves down two points 18-16.
While it looked like TCNJ had all the momentum, the Ephs were able
to put out their stopper and strongest wrestler, Ryan Malo. Malo
managed to score a pin forty seconds into the second period, his
30th on the year, giving the Ephs a four-point cushion
going into the final match. Freshman Tom Foote was able to keep his
match close giving the Ephs a single point victory over TCNJ.
Head coach Dan DiCenzo was pleased with his wrestlers' performance saying, "today was a great day for our program. TCNJ is traditionally one of the top teams in the nation and for our squad to go out there and beat them shows that our program is headed in the right direction. We received a number of great efforts today including Josh Mattana who really set the tone for our TCNJ match, Dylan Rittenburg, Corey Paulish, Carl Breitenstein, who all had big wins for us, and Ryan Malo who once again played the role of hammer in our lineup." Coach DiCenzo went on to laud the efforts of his heavyweight wrestlers, all of whom performed well in their respective matches saying, "I can't say enough about our depth at 285, all three of our guys went out there and showed me a lot today."
The Ephs will look to build on this momentum in a quad match against traditional rival Wesleyan, Oneonta State, and Lycoming. The matches are slated to be held at Oneonta State on Saturday, February 6th.
Williams: 22, TCNJ: 21
125 Josh Mattana (W) MAJ DEC Dan Franke (TCNJ), 14-2, (4-0)
135 Dan Herr (TCNJ) DEC Ces Antista (W), 6-4, (4-3)
141 Dylan Rittenburg (W) FALL Robert Micheliche (TCNJ), 0:57, (10-3)
149 Corey Paulish (W) DEC John Darling (TCNJ), 7-0, (13-3)
157 Carl Breitenstein (W) DEC Chris Lombardi (TCNJ), 4-1, (16-3)
165 Dan Dicolo (TCNJ) TECH FALL Jon Foster (W), 20-5, (16-8)
174 Brian Broderick (TCNJ) FALL George Sullivan (W), 3:50, (16-14)
184 Mike Denver (TCNJ) DEC Andrew Gatewood (W), 14-5, (16-18)
197 Ryan Malo (W) FALL Ken Amponsa (TCNJ), 3:48, (22-18)
285 Ed Broderick (TCNJ) Tom Foote (W), 8-2, (22-21)
Williams: 35, Hunter: 12
125 Josh Mattana (W) FALL Suchow (HUNT), 1:16, (6-0)
135 Ces Antista (W) DEC Mustakis (HUNT), 8-0, (10-0)
141 Messina (HUNT) DEC Dylan Rittenburg (W) , 6-0, (10-3)
149 Corey Paulish (W) FALL Gogatz (HUNT), 4:02, (16-3)
157 Delgado (HUNT) DEC Carl Breitenstein (W), 3-2 OT, (16-6)
165 Simkin (HUNT) FALL Rob Brackup (W), 1:39, (16-12)
174 George Sullivan (W) DEC Sawari (HUNT), 10-2, (20-12)
184 Andrew Gatewood (W) DEC Klotz (HUNT), 4-3, (23-12)
197 Ryan Malo (W) FALL Daly (HUNT), 1:16, (29-12)
285 Colin Curzi (W) FALL Heydebrand (HUNT), 3:30, (35-12)
Williams 29, NYU 12
125 Josh Mattana (W) DEC Adlee Fayyaz (NYU), 13-7, (3-0)
135 Ces Antista (W) FALL Steve Contino (NYU), 6:12, (9-0)
141 Clement Bommier (NYU) FALL Chris Simmons (W) , 1:43, (9-6)
149 Corey Paulish (W) DEC Gabe Gleason (NYU), 5-0, (12-6)
157 Carl Breitenstein (W) DEC Matt Magill (NYU), 3-0, (15-6)
165 Sean Connors (NYU) DEC John Foster (W), 10-6, (15-9)
174 George Sullivan (W) FALL Steve Massey (NYU), 4:40, (21-9)
184 Sabino Galassi (NYU) DEC Andrew Gatewood (W), 6-2, (21-12)
197 Ryan Malo (W) TECH FALL Jamie Myers (NYU), 18-3 @ 4:35, (26-12)
285 Nikola Mirkovic (W) DEC Michael Cunningham (NYU), 3-2, (29-12)
EXHIB:
165 Rob Brackup (W) DEC Jimmy Cariddi (NYU) 10-1
149 Anthony Micelli (W) DEC Chris Amro (NYU) 6-1
157 Scott Sanderson (W) Elliot Smith (NYU) 7-3
