The Columbia wrestling team will face a trio of opponents throughout this weekend. The Lions are coming off of a tough two game stretch in which they lost to Cornell and Binghamton by significant margins.
On Saturday, Columbia will hit the road to take on Ivy rival Princeton. The Tigers (8-8, 2-0 Ivy) are currently on a four-match winning streak. Last weekend, Princeton defeated both Harvard and Brown on the road, before beating Sacred Heart by a large margin the following day. The last time these two teams met, the Lions emerged victorious, winning 32-9 at home.
Four hours after the start of the match against Princeton, Columbia will travel to Philadelphia to face Drexel. The Dragons (6-10 overall) have had little success as of late, losing their last two matches by large margins. Against Missouri, Drexel fell 31-9, and three days later it lost to American 40-6. The Dragons feature two wrestlers with nearly identical and impressive records. Kyle Frey, 285 pounds, is 26-7 overall with 11 major decisions and Steve Mytych, 125 pounds, is 26-6 overall. Last year the Lions hosted the Dragons and won 21-14.
After a night’s rest, Columbia will head back to Philadelphia, this time to face conference foe Penn. The Quakers (8-4 overall, 2-0 Ivy) are coming off big wins over Brown and Harvard, which they won 35-6 and 41-11 respectively. Penn will bring a tough squad with a few standout wrestlers. Penn’s Gabe Burak, 165 pounds, is 20-4 overall with six major decisions and Zack Kemmerer, 141 pounds, is 17-5 overall with a team high 19 decisions. The last time these two teams met, the Quakers trounced the Lions, winning by a final score of 32-6.
Including this weekend’s competitions, the Lions have just five matches left before the EIWA championships. Next weekend, Columbia will be back at home, so wins this weekend will provide some much needed momentum going into the last home stand of the season.
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