The wrestling team came up just short against a back-to-back helping of some stiff competition this weekend. Brown lost to No. 24 Lehigh University 30-15 on Saturday and suffered a 23-10 defeat at the hands of the United States Military Academy on Sunday. The setbacks leave the Bears' record at 1-7 overall and 1-4 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.
Brown has been competitive in the six matches since the Lone Star Duals at the beginning of the month, but the team has a 1-5 record to show for its effort.
"There is no doubt that we wrestled below our capabilities in the season so far," said Assistant Coach Mike Burch.
Some key injuries have contributed significantly to the squad's struggles.
"Three of the four co-captains, ... Leo Saniuk ('08), Shawn Kitchner ('07) and David Saadeh ('07), all incurred significant or season-ending injuries," Burch said. "It is a big challenge to compensate for these injured wrestlers ... after losing a lot of graduates last year and the remaining seniors to injuries this year, 7 out of 10 wrestlers on the team are first- and second-year wrestlers."
In their match against Lehigh, the Bears' few veteran wrestlers led the way. Matt Gevelinger '09 won a 5-3 decision in the 184-pound weight class. At 149 pounds, Lenny Marandino '09 picked up six points for the Bears when his opponent had to forfeit due to an arm injury suffered late in the third period.
Although the team match had already been decided, the best individual showing of the day came when co-captain and heavyweight Levon Mock '08 pinned No. 17 Paul Weibel just 1:52 into the match.
In the dual against Army, the Bears were tied with the Black Knights 10-10 at the conclusion of the sixth match but were unable to secure any victories in their final four bouts.
Jeff Schell '08 secured a 9-1 major decision at 133 pounds, and at 157 pounds, Tom Fazio '09 won a 4-2 decision. Bran Crudden '10 followed by posting another win for Brown with a 4-3 decision at 165 pounds. According to Burch, the weekend's duals prove that the team's young wrestlers, though still lacking in Division I experience, show great potential for further improvement.
As an upperclassman, Schell said he is attempting to fill the holes left by the injured senior captains.
"With the injured captains out for the season, I feel more pressure to perform better," Schell said. "In the match against Army, I was more aggressive and less defensive. I executed my techniques well and was able to secure the win for the team."
Gevelinger said a big problem the team faces is consistency, noting that he "wrestled very well against Lehigh but did not do well the next day against Army."
Burch also noted the team's inconsistency. "Right now, the coaches and the wrestlers are working together to correct mistakes and yield better results in the future," he said.
At the season's halfway mark this weekend, the squad will face its first Ivy League opponents. The Bears will wrestle the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University in Philadelphia on Friday and travel to Princeton on Saturday.
