Light Blue Wrestlers to Hit the Mats at Las Vegas Invitational

Columbia's wrestling team travels to Las Vegas this weekend to
battle with the nation's elite programs for early-season recognition
in the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament. More than 45 teams are
participating in the tournament, with at least 20 of the top 25 teams
in attendance. Other Ivy League representatives will be Cornell,
Harvard, and Penn.

The Lions have been going all-out in practice to prepare for the
meet. "Hopefully, we'll continue to exceed our expectations and
we'll have some big success at this tournament," junior Steve
Popovitch said.

Columbia's team has been rigorously preparing both mentally and
physically for this tournament. One of the most notable
improvements this year is the team's overall health and fitness,
largely a result of stricter, more demanding off-season workouts.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, the squad worked themselves into
top condition to prepare for the tournament.

"We had two practices a day on Saturday and Sunday, and then on
Monday [Head Coach] Buckley invited some alternative therapy
experts to our practice to help us out," Popovitch said. "They taught
us some breathing and visualization techniques, and we relaxed
in some ice-baths. We had to have a relaxing day."

Popovitch and sophomores Dan Green and Erik Norgaard are
expected to bear much of the responsibility for success at the
tournament this year. The Lions failed to place in last year's
tournament and said they hope that an increase in conditioning
will improve their results.

"Some people have to work on their conditioning to improve,"
Norgaard said. "And some people have to work on their skills. I
know I have to focus on improving my strength and conditioning
while also developing some more skill in order to place at this
tournament. Coach has prepared us well with the hard practices,
and now we have to let the work take care of itself."

The tournament's format is double-elimination, with losers being
placed in a consolation bracket to determine the medal
positions.

"Each squad takes one guy from each weight class," Popovitch
said. "Beginning Friday morning, we get tested. Friday's wrestling
lasts until the medal rounds, and the medal rounds are all day
Saturday. In order to get to the semis without losing, you have to
wrestle four or five matches on Friday. But if you lose, you have to
wrestle about seven matches to get to a medal round. All in all,
Friday can be a really long day, and the competition is the best in
the nation."

Columbia's squad is thin right now because of injuries sustained
during the off-season and at practice. First-year Chris Smolk is
traveling to the tournament to see if he can cope with the pain of
torn rib cartilage, while senior Chris Felicetta will likely sit out of the
tournament because of an injured elbow.

"Wrestling is hard on the human body," Norgaard said. "Even
when you're [winning], you're getting [beaten up]. But I think we can
[do better] this year than last year. Also, it's real important for us to
show that we can hang with the top programs in the nation."

Agreeing with Norgaard, Felicetta said, "This is a big opportunity
for us to prove that we belong with these other tough teams in the
nation. I know we can do well, and now we just gotta go out there
and wrestle."