The Wesleyan wrestling team continued its impressive recent run of victories this past weekend.  The Cardinals, second in the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) rankings, defeated #3 Plymouth State and #4 Williams, as well as Oneonta State, to sweep a four-team competition hosted by Williams on Saturday.

Plymouth State provided little resistance to the Wesleyan onslaught, falling 39-4, and the Cardinals similarly dominated Williams, 30-10, their second defeat of the Ephs in as many weeks.  Unranked Oneonta State actually provided the toughest test for the Cards, yet they were unable to prevent Wesleyan’s 15th victory in their past 16 matches.

After crushing Plymouth State’s hopes and dreams, Wesleyan found itself behind Williams 10-0 after three bouts.  That’s when they dashed off seven consecutive wins against the short-handed Ephs.  In the final match of the day, a down-to-the-wire affair against Oneonta State, Tom Oddo ’12 provided the most crucial victory of the event by triumphing 4-2 with the Cardinals up just 16-15.  Then Kyle Roosa ’13 finished off the match with a 15-0 technical fall to provide the final 24-15 score.  Both Chris Alvanos ’11 and Roosa went 3-0 on the day, and Roosa won NEWA Wrestler of the Week honors for his performance.

With the victory over Plymouth State, head coach Drew Black earned the 128th win of his Wesleyan coaching career in just his 13th year at the helm. He surpassed the record 127 coaching victories that former wrestling coach and Athletic Director John Biddiscombe accumulated in his 15 years as the head man.  Black now has 130 career wins and stands alone at the top of the list.

With their outstanding performance, the Cardinals raised their record to 15-3-1, the second-highest win total ever for a Wesleyan wrestling team.  They will have a chance to draw within one victory of the 17-2 2001-02 team this Friday, when they host Division II American International College.