Lions Earn Fifth in EIWA, Send Four To Nationals

A series of close matches and near misses plagued the wrestling team at the EIWA Championships this weekend at East Stroudsburg University. For their efforts, the Lions claimed fifth place out of a fourteen-team field with 74.5 team points. Four Light Blue wrestlers received bids for the NCAA tournament, and the Lions set a school record with eight place winners at the tournament.

Friday's matches opened with the 125-pound class, where junior Brandon Kinney started out with a 10-0 decision over Jacob Bucha of Franklin and Marshall. Kinney then defeated Army's Fernando Martinez 4-2, but fell 8-0 to Troy Nickerson of Cornell. In the consolation rounds on Saturday, Kinney bounced back with two consecutive wins to claim third place. Head coach Brendan Buckley was very pleased with Kinney's effort.

"He was wrestling like an All-American," Buckley said. "This was the best tournament he's had this year. He put it together at the right time, and it was phenomenal."

Senior Matt DeLorenzo would not be as fortunate at the 133-pound level. DeLorenzo won his first bout 2-0 over Austin Reed of Franklin and Marshall but lost 6-2 to Harvard's Robert Preston, who eventually finished third place in the class.

At 141 pounds, Sal Tirico was pinned in his first match and forfeited his consolation match due to a knee injury. Tirico had been injured earlier in the season and as one of the team's top wrestlers, his loss may have contributed to Columbia's lower standing in the results.

"I think, as far as team points go, had Tirico come into this tournament healthy, we would have certainly taken fourth," Buckley said. "We could have certainly overtaken Lehigh."

The outcome was better at 149 pounds, where freshman Matt Dunn took fourth place. Dunn won his opening match with Penn's Richard Rappo 8-3, but fell to eventual champion Jordan Leen of Cornell 10-1 in the semifinals. After winning a match, he lost to third-place finisher John Cox of Navy 10-4. Senior Devin Mesanko also faced several close matches at 157 pounds, winning his first bout 6-5 over Bucknell's Brantley Hooks but coming up short 10-9 against David Nakasone of Lehigh. Mesanko moved through the consolation rounds, reaching the consolation final where he once again faced Nakasone, but this time Mesanko prevailed 3-1 in sudden victory, taking third place in the class. At 165 pounds senior Ricky Turk lost his first match to Penn's Zachary Shanaman, 6-1.

The final of the 174-pound class became the marquee match-up for the Lions. Second-seeded senior Matt Palmer had scored decisive wins over his first three opponents on Friday, earning him a spot in the final. On Saturday, he faced the number-one seed, Matt Stolpinski of Navy. Despite a strong showing by Palmer, he was unable to overcome the Midshipman, and lost a close 7-5 decision to take second place.

"It was a really tight battle," Buckley said. "Palmer had the lead. [Stolpinski] just kind of wore Palmer down, and Matt wasn't able to wrestle his style of match."

Senior Justin Barent started the 184-pound class with a 15-5 win over Oliver Noteware of Princeton, but was upset 12-1 by Cornell's Joshua Arnone. Barent scored two wins in the consolation rounds before falling in a narrow 3-2 match to Lehigh's David Craig. Likewise, junior Nick Sommerfeld won his first round 10-1 over Zachary Morse of Princeton before falling in the second round 3-2 to Eric Lapotsky of Bucknell. Sommerfeld notched two wins in consolation before losing to Lehigh's Matt Cassidy 5-3.

Kevin Lester opened the heavyweight with a 7-4 win over Andrew Knapp of Harvard before losing in the second round 6-1 to eventual runner-up Zach Hammond of Cornell. Lester won a series of close matches in consolation before getting pinned by Levon Mock of Brown in 5:56.

With the end of the tournament, Columbia finished fifth in the points standings with 74.5 points, behind Cornell, Navy, Penn, and Lehigh. In addition, Kinney, Mesanko, Dunn, and Palmer will be representing the Lions in the NCAA tournament in two weeks.

"We were very close at getting more guys at nationals," Buckley said. "I knew it was going to be tough. This was the second-toughest conference tournament in the country. Anything can happen."

Buckley, however, was pleased with the overall outcome of the tournament.

"All in all, it was a good weekend. We had a couple of heartbreakers, you know, but all in all it was a good weekend."

The Light Blue will be back to compete in the NCAA Championships on March 15-16 in Auburn Hills, Mich.