The distinction is arresting: while Israel means “one who wrestles with God,” Tomi means “one who wrestles with other college kids.” Brutally tossing his opponents across the floor and pulverizing their craniums into smelly mats, Tomi Uyehara ’08 is acknowledged in most wrestling circles as a warrior par excellence. He was a starter in his first two years and is currently competing with two other teammates for a starting position in the 141-pound weight class. I recently schmoozed with Tomi about Wesleyan’s team and his experiences as a wrestler.
JC: How does this year’s team compare to last year’s? What are your expectations for this season?
TU: The team is much better than last season. Basically we only graduated one wrestler, captain Chris Robichaud ’06. Since he was hurt almost all of last year it is almost the same team but with a lot of new freshman making huge contributions. I think we should be able to take top five in the NECCWA [New England College Conference Wrestling Association], which would be huge for Wesleyan wrestling. Our team is looking really good right now and we should be able to win a lot of tough dual meets that we lost by close scores last year. The freshmen have filled in certain spots where we were really weak last year and their contributions will help us win where we weren’t last year.
JC: What is the feeling you experience when you pin someone?
TU: It is hard to describe pinning because it is a feeling and experience quite unique to wrestling. I have played other sports in high school and can say with certainty that nothing felt like pinning someone in wrestling. You feel that you have completely dominated someone and when you are in the process of pinning someone, you are trying to squeeze the life out of them as much as possible. I guess the closest thing I would equate pinning someone to is strangling someone. Once you have pinned someone, when you hear the ref slap the mat, you know for certain that your opponent has truly given up and that you “owned” them. It’s a win that you know that nobody else played a role in and your opponent knows that he can’t blame anyone one for giving up.
JC: What particular strategies do you use to win?
TU: I try to score as much as possible in the first period and then stall my way through the rest of the match.
JC: Any team celebrations after matches?
TU: We don’t celebrate or have fun in season. Once the season ends most guys go pretty nuts and try to make up for the previous four months that first night after the NECCWA tournament.
JC: Have you ever experienced any awkward groping from your opponent?
TU: I’ve been hit and kneed there before, but I don’t think I’ve really been groped there before. Also, I had a high school coach who was fond of the motto, “When in doubt, tear his ass out.” That was kinda weird.
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