Closing out its long series of away duals before opening the home portion of its schedule next weekend, the Columbia wrestling team fell 28-12 to Bucknell on Sunday afternoon at Davis Gym in Lewisburg, Pa.
The Lions (2-9) fell behind early, losing the first four bouts and seven of the first eight en route to a disheartening loss. The team had been showing some promise over the last few weeks, winning two of its past four duals and placing third (out of 18 teams) at the New York State Championships.
“We are not performing up to our potential,” head coach Brendan Buckley said via e-mail. “We do have some individuals who are wrestling well but we need others to step up for their teammates in order to secure more dual meet victories.”
The Light Blue only managed to put three wrestlers in the win column on Sunday. Derek Sickles (157 pounds) and Lou Miller each earned decisions, and heavyweight Ryan Flores won by forfeit.
Kevin Tao, at 125 pounds, kicked off the afternoon by dropping a close bout to Bucknell’s Derek Reber, 6-5. Kyle Gilchrist then fell to David Marble by a technical fall. Marble, currently ranked number 20 nationally, is now 8-2 for his last 10 matches.
The Bison have a well-balanced squad that includes brothers Shane and Tyler Riccio. The Riccios went 1-1 on the day, with Tyler falling to Sickles at 157 pounds and Shane, who has now won 10 of his past 11 bouts, earning a major decision over Mike Wolfer at 174.
Buckley’s road warriors will surely be looking forward to hosting a dual of their own. Starting next Sunday, the Lions play four consecutive duals at home, including three (against Penn, Princeton, and Drexel) over President’s Day Weekend.
But Columbia will have to face Cornell first. The Big Red enter Sunday’s dual with a 6-2 record and are expected to continue to show that they are the class of the Ivy League.
Still, in Buckley’s words, “It will be nice to finally have a home match.”
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