The wrestling team finished its dual season on a high note after taking three of four matches at the Pizzitola Center over the long weekend. On Friday, the team faced off against Wagner University and Columbia. After Brown blanked Wagner 46-0, it secured the maximum 12 points over the final two matches to stun the Lions, 21-20 in the second match.
The next day, the Bears battled No. 12 Cornell and Delaware State University. The team fell short against the Big Red, losing 28-10. The Bears then beat Delaware Sate 42-7 in their last dual match of the season. The three victories over the weekend improved Brown's record to 6-12 overall, and 4-7 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.
The weekend kicked off with a dual against Wagner. The Bears took control of the meet from the beginning with a pin at the 125-pound weight class by Greg Einfrank '10. Brown proceeded to dominate every match, tallying five pins, one major decision, two decisions and a forfeit in the shutout victory
With one win under its belt, the team faced Ivy League opponent Columbia. Entering the dual, Columbia was just outside the nation's Top 25 and second in the Ivy League after upsetting the 16th-ranked University of Pennsylvania. The Quakers defeated Brown 33-4. Earlier this year, the Bears, undaunted, took Columbia down in the closest dual of the year.
The match was tightly contested from the start. In the opening match, Columbia's Brandon Kinney defeated Einfrank 5-3 at 125. The win gave the Lions a three-point lead, but Jeff Schell '08 immediately tied the score when he defeated his opponent by a score of 2-0 at the 133-pound weight class. The win was an important one for Schell heading into the postseason.
"Schell's win against Columbia will be very important to him in the seeding for Easterns," said Assistant Coach Mike Burch. "He beat the same kid who had defeated him earlier this season."
At 141 pounds, Mark Savino '08 recorded a takedown of his opponent just seconds into the match. Savino increased his commanding lead to 14-3 with only 10 seconds left in the third and final period, but the Bears then received a boost from the referee who disqualified Columbia's Jerome Greco for stalling. The decision gave the Bears an extra two points from the match and a 9-3 lead in the team score.
But the Bears' momentum halted there. Starting at 149 pounds, the Lions picked up five wins in a row, three decisions and two major decisions. With two matches remaining, Columbia led 20-9. The Bears could beat Columbia only if they could earn the maximum of six points for each of the two matches.
Josh Serene '10 got the Bears off to a good start at 197 pounds. Serene took out his more experienced opponent, junior Nick Sommerfeld, by employing a patented move. Serene executed a hold across his opponent's neck, causing Sommerfeld to call three timeouts. The third time he stopped the match, he exceeded the number of allowed injury timeouts and was disqualified, giving the Bears half of their required total.
"I was really nervous going into the match," said Serene. "I knew I had to win six points somehow for the team to win."
With Serene's win, the Bears still trailed the Lions 20-15. For the last match of the dual, Brown sent out its heavyweight veteran and co-captain Levon Mock '08. With its leader on the mat for the final points, Burch was hopeful heading into the final dual.
"It's very difficult to pin your opponent in college wrestling ... but Levon is a great wrestler and I did not think it was impossible for him to win with a fall," Burch said.
To the jubilation of the Brown wrestlers and fans, Mock took down his opponent and pinned him in just 46 seconds. This win gave the team another six points, and the Bears stunned Columbia 21-20.
"I heard Columbia's coach telling my opponent not to get pinned, and that gave me more confidence," Mock said.
When asked how he secured the victory for the team, Mock said even though he won the final match for the team, the victory against Columbia was the result of a collective team effort.
"The younger guys wrestled very hard on the mat and did not give away extra points," he said. "Schell, Savino and Serene earned extra points for the team that made the team win possible."
The next day against Cornell, Brown's top wrestlers had strong showings but Bruno could not pull out a victory. The Big Red ran off four straight wins to start the match, but Schell stopped the deluge at 133 when he defeated his opponent with a 2-1 decision thanks to having an advantage in riding time. Savino earned three more points for the Bears as he won an 8-4 decision at 141.
At 157 pounds, Tom Fazio '09 earned four points for Brown when he defeated his opponent with a major decision of 12-1. Lenny Maradino '09 and Chris Musser '09 dropped decisions to close the match, which finalized the score at 28-10.
In the final dual of the season, Brown defeated Delaware State 42-7. The Bears recorded 24 points due to forfeits by the Hornets, and took decisions at 184 and 141, an injury default at 149 and a pin at 157.
"The team peaked at the right time," said Savino, who won all his matches this past weekend. "The younger wrestlers had more confidence and really stepped up. It was a great finish (to the dual season). This positive momentum will definitely help us in the coming Easterns."
The wrestling team will compete at the EIWA Championship at East Stroudsburg University on Mar. 2 and 3. The EIWA is one of the toughest conferences in the country this year with teams like Cornell, Penn and Lehigh University in the rankings this week. According to Burch, the three classmates, Schell, Savino and Mock should all be seeded in the top six to eight spots next week.
