The wrestling team keeps a busy schedule, which began in Nov. and continued through most of break and the start of classes. Since returning to campus, many students are hard-pressed to make the trip to the bookstore or class, but the wrestlers in particular have been traveling and competing quite frequently.
Since the beginning of classes, the men have wrestled three times. On Jan. 21, the team defeated Roger Williams by winning seven of the eight matches wrestled for a final count of 26-17. The score does not reflect the dominance that the Cardinals demonstrated, as they started off at a 12-0 disadvantage due to forfeits at the lower weights.
On Sunday, the team participated in the NECCWA dual tournament at Bridgewater State. Although the team lost their matches to Springfield, Trinity and U.S. Coast Guard Academy, they still managed to place eighth of the fifteen participating teams. On Wednesday, the team lost on the road when taking on Coast Guard again.
This recent draught has dropped the men’s dual meet record to 5-8, but this mediocre record is not representative of the season as a whole.
“Our team is a tournament team. Most of our highlights have come from tournaments rather than dual meets,” said tri-captain Adam Jonas ’04.
As a group the men finished fifth out of nineteen teams competing at the Doug Parker Invitational in Nov. The team’s best finish came at the end of break, when they traveled down to Pennsylvania and finished third out of nine teams in the Ursinus College Tournament.
The individual performances have been strong in tournaments as well. Jonas became the first Cardinal wrestler to win the Doug Parker Invitational when he took first in the 157-pound weight class. Jonas has been strong all year, with an overall record of 16-3. It is especially impressive because two of his three losses came when wrestling in a higher weight class.
Tri -captain Gabe Fierro-Fine ’04 has been on a dominating streak of his own. Of late, Fierro-Fine rides a five-match win streak. Ranked number one in New England Division III at 141 pounds, Fierro-Fine avenged an earlier loss to second-ranked Mike Gaeta of Springfield. Earlier in the season he became the University’s first Rochester Invitational Tournament champion. Jonas and Fierro-Fine were both victorious at the Roger Williams Tournament, and the individual success leads for exciting prospects in the post-season.
“In reality nobody remembers the regular season,” Jonas said. “What people remember are the championships. Hopefully we can step it up when it counts. Some solid victories during New England’s would overshadow some of our disappointments of the dual meet season.”
Jonas and Fierro-Fine have been leading the team, but many others have contributed strongly throughout the season. The team’s third captain, Chris Robichaud ’05 has a winning record overall, and most impressively he stands at 5-2 when wrestling at 184 pounds during dual meets. Other consistent performers include heavyweight Matt Moran ’04, 18-10 overall, Kevin Egolf ’05 at 149 pounds, 17-7 overall, and Dave Bartlett ’06, who is 17-10 primarily at 165 pounds. The numbers show the upperclassmen have certainly been leading the team.
“We have a blend of young and old on our team,” Jonas said. “The freshmen have yet to come into their own, but they have enormous talent.”
This depth bodes well for the team and its future, evidenced by Dan deLalla ’07, who has one of the team’s best tournament records at 7-3 (9-3 overall). DeLalla may have contributed on some teams, but he has wrestled at 149 and 157. Egolf and Jonas usually wrestle at these weights, massing a combined 15-4 dual meet record.
Prospects for the rest of the season look good for the Cardinal wrestlers. Unfortunately for fans they have no more home meets, with their next competition against host Johnson & Whales University and the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, January 31. The team has little time before the post-season gets underway in February, which by all indications will bring more success.
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