The wrestling team competed in its final two dual meets of the season in New York against Cornell on Friday and Columbia on Saturday. Although the Bears lost 31-9 to No. 15 ranked Cornell, the team wrestled "some great matches (with) great intensity," according to tri-captain Mark Savino '08. The next day, the Bears faced off against the Lions and suffered another loss, 23-14. But all three senior captains won their matches against Columbia, ending their dual meet careers on a high note.
In the dual against Cornell, Chris Musser '09 started the action at the 165-pound weight class. Musser scored an early takedown in the first period and headed into the final period 2-1. But with 15 seconds remaining in the match, his opponent Mike Mackie scored a reversal and came back 3-2.
The Big Red went on a winning streak and took the next three matches. At the 174 and 184-pound weight classes, Kasey McCurdy '11 and Matt Gevelinger '09 wrestled against the No. 10 and No. 17 ranked opponents, respectively. At 197, Leo Saniuk '09 lost another close match, 4-3, giving Cornell a 15-0 lead in team points.
In the next heavy-weight class match, tri-captain Levon Mock '08 gave the team a confidence boost when he pinned his opponent 32 seconds into the second period, earning six team points for the Bears. But the team lost the next two matches at 125 and 133 pound-weight classes. At 141, Savino picked up the last team win of the day when he defeated Nick Bridge with a 5-3 decision.
"Individually, I was really happy about my results," said Savino, who won the next day against Columbia as well. "As a senior, I was excited to get two wins to finish the dual meet."
Head Coach Dave Amato thought the team wrestled better against Cornell, which is a much better team, than against Columbia.
"Against Columbia, a few matches didn't go our way," Savino added.
At the starting 125-pound match, Columbia got a four point lead with a major decision. But two captains, Schell and Savino, quickly stole back the lead in the next two matches with a major decision and a decision win respectively. But the Bears' momentum stalled there as Columbia took the next four matches. Matt Gevelinger '09 kept the hope of a comeback alive when he defeated Mike Pushpak with a major decision 16-5, earning four team points, narrowing down the team point differences to within nine, 20-11.
But at 197, Brandon Stearns '09 lost by one point, 6-5, to Nick Sommerfield, which sealed the victory for Columbia. Nevertheless, Mock took home the last win of the day for the Bears at the heavy-eight class as he defeated Lou Miller with a 11-4 decision.
Amato said the highlight of the weekend was that the three senior captains won "their last dual matches in Brown uniforms."
The team has one week to prepare for the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association tournament, which will decide who will advance to nationals. The wrestlers are having a lot more individualized practice this week than normal, according to Amato.
"Everyone is excited," Savino said. "The guys are focused are doing whatever they can to get ready for Easterns."
