The wrestling team hosted four dual meets last weekend at the Pizzitola Center. After winning the first dual meet against Boston University, 28-12, the Bears dropped the second to Drexel, 27-9. The next day, they faced off against Penn and Princeton and lost both duals, 6-35 and 15-21, respectively, which puts their record at 0-2 in the Ivy League.
"It was a disappointing weekend for us," said Head Coach Dave Amato.
Brown 28, BU 12
The weekend started out on a high note for the Bears in their first dual against Boston University. After taking the first two weight classes by decisions, the Bears led 6-0. The Terriers stormed back in the next three matches, but Ziad Kharbush '12 turned the momentum once again in favor of Brown with his 10-2 victory. The rest of the dual went the Bears' way, including a win by fall with five seconds left in regulation time in the heavyweight bout by Tyler Cowman '13, which sealed the Bears' first home victory 28-12.
Drexel 27, Brown 9
The Bears did not put on the same performance against Drexel. After losing the first three matches, the Dragons established a comfortable 13-0 lead and never looked back as they took the dual, 27-9.
Penn 35, Brown 6
The next day, Brown kicked off its Ivy League season with a morning dual against Penn, followed by an afternoon dual against Princeton. From the start of the first meet, the Quakers dominated the Bears. They won the first seven matches and extended their lead to 32-0.
Bran Crudden '10 finally broke the losing streak for the Bears at 184 lbs with a 6-1 victory. Following Crudden, another senior, Branden Stearns '10, took down his opponent, 7-4.
"Stearns had a really good weekend, going 4-0," Amato said. "Crudden too, going 3-1."
Penn Head Coach Rob Eiter said his team started out very strong, but he wished it could have finished well, too.
"It's a tough sport," he said. The match at "197 was a key bout, they had a very good kid, a senior, and we had a freshman. But I'm pleased with most of our guys. We tried to pick up the pace, be aggressive, look for the pin and wrestle hard for seven minutes."
Princeton 21, Brown 15
The final dual of the weekend against Princeton "was a heartbreaker," Amato said.
The Tigers led, 12-3, halfway into the dual. The Bears won their next match by fall, and were one win away from a comeback. Kharbush nearly had that win, and was leading his match, 5-1, when his opponent pinned him 4:49 into the match. With the win, the Tigers gained six team points and shattered the Bears' hope of a team victory.
"They did a great job," said Princeton Head Coach Chris Ayres of his wrestlers. "We had some things go our way. Brown wrestled great, too. It was just a darn good dual."
"It wasn't a lack of effort," Amato said of his team. "We didn't wrestle smart. We missed a few close calls from the ref. Bryan Tracy ('10) and T.J. Popolizio ('12) were both wrestling with injuries. I hope the guys can move forward from this weekend.
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