SPRINGFIELD, MA- The 18th ranked Ephs traveled to Springfield
College for a mid-week match against the 28th ranked Pride. The
Ephs, without five of their starting grapplers, still managed to
pull out a crucial 19-18 in-conference victory.
197 pound junior Ryan Malo got the Ephs off to a quick start with
a first period pin over Connor O'Rourke. The pin of O'Rourke was
Malo's 50th career pin of his 65 wins.
In the second match of the day Springfield’s Ron Fusco
scored an upset victory over Eph freshman Tom Foote, 9-3. The match
was far closer than the score shows. Foote was down by one point
with twenty seconds left and attempted to get a takedown but was
caught by Fusco and was forced to scramble off of his back
resulting in three additional back points for Fusco.
125 pound Josh Mattana got the Ephs back on track by dominating
Casey Leslie. The match was never in question with Mattana scoring
a shutout victory 5-0
133 pound freshman Ces Antista extended the Ephs lead by crushing
Springfield Captain Eddie Giron, 14-3. Giron, a returning
All-Conference wrestler, was no match for Antista. Head Coach Dan
DiCenzo was pleased with how Antista approached the match saying,
“Going into the match I was not sure how we would fare in
Ces’ match. Giron is a talented wrestler but could not keep
up with Ces’ conditioning and poise.”
Kaison Tanabe, wrestling up a weight class, fell to Blaze Chatham,
the 2nd ranked wrestler in New England, seven to six. Tanabe found
himself in a four point hole early in the match but battled back.
“Kaison did a great job coming back from a 4-0 hole,”
said Coach DiCenzo, and he continued, “Kaison did a
phenomenal job of putting pressure on Chatham and was controlling
the match. Unfortunately, he ran out of time but this challenge
will make him a better wrestler down the road.”
Without junior standout Corey Paulish in the lineup the Ephs put
out Anthony Miceli. Springfield’s Steve Flathers scored a
decisive victory over Miceli, 13-3. The Eph loss brought the Pride
within three points in the team score. “Anthony wrestled hard
but was unable to overcome the challenge posed by Flathers.”
When asked about Paulish’s absence Coach DiCenzo said,
“Corey had three interviews today, and while I understand
that Corey is an important wrestler to us, part of the Williams
experience is an emphasis on academics, an emphasis that I believe
in passionately.”
157 pound Rob Brackup gave the Ephs a strong performance defeating
John Robertson, 8-6. Brackup’s victory gave the Ephs a six
point cushion over the Pride. Coach DiCenzo said, “Rob has
been wrestling well for us, he was the better wrestler in the match
today and he did a good job building on his great weekend [at the
Plymouth State Quad].”
Jon Foster, wrestling up a weight class at 174, found himself down
3-1 with thirty seconds left in the match. Foster rallied and
scored a takedown, forcing the bout into overtime. Foster only
needed ten seconds to take down Jareth Cardozo, sealing the meet
for the Ephs.
Coach DiCenzo was impressed with his team’s effort saying,
“Springfield is traditionally a power in our Conference and
to go on the road and beat them, especially with out a number of
our starters, is a testament to the depth of our team. A number of
wrestlers who typically do not get a lot of playing time wrestled
well and put us in the position to win.”
The Ephs take to the mats in the NEWA Dual Meet Tournament. The
tournament is scheduled for Sunday January, 30th.
Williams 19, Springfield 18
Weight Result Score/Time Running Score
197 lbs. -- Ryan Malo (W) PINNED Connor O'Rourke (SC), 1:09,
(6-0)
285 lbs. -- Ron Fusco (SC) DEC Tom Foote (W), 9-3, (6-3)
125 lbs. -- Josh Mattana (W) DEC Casey Leslie (SC), 6-0, (9-3)
133 lbs. -- Ces Antista (W) DEC Eddie Giron (SC), 15-3 (13-3)
141 lbs. -- Blaze Chatham (SC) DEC Kaison Tanabe (W), 7-6
(13-6)
149 lbs. -- Steve Flathers (SC) DEC Anthony Miceli (W), 13-3
(13-10)
157 lbs. -- Rob Brackup (W) DEC John Robertson (SC), 8-6
(16-10)
165 lbs. -- Ronald Thompson (SC) DEC Zeb Levine (W), 14-4
(16-14)
174 lbs. -- Jon Foster (W) DEC Jareth Cardoso (SC), 5-3
(19-14)
184 lbs. -- Anthony Dalesandro (SC) DEC Andrew Gatewood (W), 8-0
(19-18)
Exhibition Matches
133 - Gary Nevils (S) Tech Falled Chris Simmons (W) 17-2
149 - Sam Brinkley (W) Dec. Geoff Toal (S) 9-4
157 - Joe Sulkowski (S) Dec. Scott Sanderson (W) 12-7
165 - Kyle Martin (W) Dec. Dave Brown (S) 7-6
285 - Nikola Mirkovic (W) Pinned Alex Klinoff (S) in 3:55
285 - Colin Curzi (W) Dec Rich Wigglesworth (S) 8-2
