Wrestling coach Drew Black had little trouble picking up his 102nd and 103rd wins this past weekend as the squad went 2-0-1 on the mats in the Bacon Field House. With its weekend success, the team clinched a winning season for the second time in the last three years. Now at 9-4-1 on the year, the team picked up wins this past weekend against M.I.T (30-16) and Springfield (31-7). Although Springfield had defeated the Cardinals in mid-January, this time the Cardinals came out on top with a stronger winning score than previously posted by Springfield
Instrumental in the Springfield win was senior captain Alex Segal ’09, who defeated a Springfield wrestler who outweighed him by 15 pounds. Segal fought hard all match and, even after being slapped with a stalling charge, ended up slamming his opponent to the mat with time dwindling to pick up the decision.
“Segal’s victory was inspiring to the rest of the guys, and he has really proved his toughness this season,” said Zach Rolfe ’10.
Likewise, Dave Amrhein ’12 fought a nationally respected heavyweight and ended up keeping the match close enough that Springfield could not mount any momentum. Dave Bachy ’10 had an impressive win against his opponent, a Springfield 149-pounder. One of the final victories was Rolfe, who forced his opponent to tap out when he executed a headlock.
“It was clear that Rolfe’s victory got the fans into the match–the fan support always helps inspire the rest of the team,” said Chris Mixon ’09.
After two early wins, the real success on the mats came in the third and final match against 25th-ranked Rhode Island College. The Cardinals trailed by three going into the final bout, where 141-pounder Vin deLalla ’11 wrestled like a veteran, earning a 9-7 decision to secure the tie.
Both Dan Bloom ’10 and Greg Hurd ’10 won big points for the team in this match. Both wrestlers have moved up to being ranked 8th nationally in their respective weight classes. Armhein also had a crucial overtime decision in the heavyweight bout to keep Wesleyan in the match. Another huge performer of the day was Josh Berkovic ’10 who, along with Hurd, won all three of his matches that day. Hurd is now an unparalleled 14-0 in dual matches. Bloom dropped his first dual match of the year this weekend to bring his record down to 11-1 (27-2 overall).
“Our team has been wrestling really well these past couple weeks,” Segal said.
The Cardinals look to continue their success this coming weekend in their final dual meets against Oneonta State and Williams, which will likely be the last home match of the season.
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