Wrestling Maintains Winning Record With Saturday Split

Sophomore Daniel Kolodzik won a pair of matches to hep the Princeton wrestling team to a Saturday split during a tri-meet at Dillon Gym. Princeton defeated VMI in the opener 33-6 before falling to a strong Rutgers squad 34-3.

The split kept Princeton with a winning record (2-1) through its first weekend of dual matches. Princeton, which defeated Franklin & Marshall 38-12 Friday night, moved to 2-0 with the win over VMI. The Tigers got wins in their first eight matches, including close decisions for freshmen Garrett Frey, Zach Bintliff and Luis Ramos in the first three matches.

Kolodzik, Princeton's lone undefeated wrestler for the weekend, followed with a 9-4 win at 149 pounds to open a 12-0 lead for the Tigers. After a win by senior Danny Scotton, the Tigers got a forfeir and back-to-back pins from Travis Erdman and Kurt Brendel to put the match away.

The second match, which featured a pair of New Jersey programs, was not quite as lopsided as the team score indicates. Rutgers, which is just outside the Top 25, was the team able to pull matches out in the end while the team result was still in the air. That trend began early in the highlight match of the day, as Frey - a Blair Academy standout - took on two-time New Jersey state champion Vincent DellaFave at 125 pounds.

DellaFave got the first takedown and held a 2-1 lead late in the first period, but Kolodzik appeared to have a takedown seconds before the period ended. The referee signalled the takedown twice, but after conferring with the coaches and the assistant referee, waved off the takedown. That would be a crucial decision, as Frey spent the third period trying to ride DellaFave out in a 2-2 tie. A locked hands call forced Frey to cut his opponent and fight for a late takedown, which never came.

Bintliff took on nationally ranked Billy Ashnault at 133 and stood toe-to-toe for much of the match. One Rutgers takedown in the first period forced Bintliff to gamble late; trailing 3-1 with about 30 seconds remaining, Bintliff shot and got caught in a five-point move for an eventual 8-1 loss.

A technical fall at 141 left Princeton in an 11-0 hole when Kolodzik took on Kellen Bradley at 149. The Princeton sophomore had the early edge with a quick takedown, but Bradley came back with an escape and a takedown of his own. Kolodzik used a reversal and a strong ride to even the match at 5 and earn more than a minute of riding time. The two scrambled late in the third and ended near the Princeton coaches, where they could watch Kolodzik clinch the match with one final takedown.

That momentum seemed to propel Scotton early, who had a very early takedown of Braden Turner at 157. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be enough offense to follow; Scotton managed one escape, but after Turner took him down in the third, the Princeton tri-captain couldn't free himself one last time in a 4-3 loss.

At that point, the strength of the Rutgers middle and heavyweights took over. Gregory Zannetti controlled a game Andy Lowy for a 6-2 win at 165, and Daniel Seidenberg didn't allow a point to Travis Erdman in an 8-0 win at 174.

Freshman Charles Fox battled throughout his 197-pound match to senior Lamar Brown, but he was unable to take down the physical Rutgers upperweight. Brown got a late takedown for a 5-2 win, which was sandwiched between a major decision and a pin for the final 34-3 team result.

Princeton will travel to Binghamton next weekend for a quad that will include Binghamton, Liberty and the Merchant Marine Academy.


Princeton 33, VMI 6
125 - Garrett Frey (P) d. Jonathan Pope 8-5
133 - Zach Bintliff (P) d. Luke Todd 7-2
141 - Luis Ramos (P) d. David Yost 2-0
149 - Daniel Kolodzik (P) d. Mike Long 9-4
157 - Danny Scotton (P) d. Matthew Brock 8-4
165 - Andy Lowy (P) wins by forfeit
174 - Travis Erdman (P) p. Andrew Szymborski 6:16
184 - Kurt Brendel (P) p Vinnie Gallo 2:37
197 - Ronald Ellsworth (VMI) d. Charles Fox 3-1
HWT - Josh Wine (VMI) d. Stephen Turner 6-0

Rutgers 34 Princeton 3
125 - Vincent Dellafave (R) d. Garrett Frey 4-2
133 - Billy Ashnault (R) d. Zach Bintliff 8-1
141 - Trevor Melde (R) tf. Luis Ramos, 19-4, 5:00
149 - Daniel Kolodzik (P) d. David Greenwald 8-5
157 - Kellen Bradley (R) d. Danny Scotton 4-3
165 - Gregory Zannetti (R) d. Andy Lowy 6-2
174 - Daniel Seidenberg (R) md. Travis Erdman 8-0
184 - Daniel Rinaldi (R) md. Kurt Brendel 13-4
197 - Lamar Brown (R) d. Charles Fox 5-2
285 - Dominick Russo (R) p. Bobby Grogan 1:08