The Princeton coaching staff; from left, Sean Gray, Joe Dubuque, and Chris Ayres (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)On Monday morning, the #24 ranked dual team, the Princeton Tigers, released their schedule for the 2022-23 season. Princeton is a team that was 6-5 in dual competition last season and finished third in the EIWA and 16th at the NCAA Championships. The Tigers made school history in Detroit, by putting a pair of wrestlers in the NCAA finals for the first time in one season. Both of them, Patrick Glory and Quincy Monday, are back and will lead a veteran lineup for head coach Chris Ayres.
Here's the breakdown of the schedule, as a whole.
Duals versus six teams in InterMat's summer dual rankings (#6 Cornell, #8 Arizona State, #10 Wisconsin, #16 Penn, #21 Lehigh, #26 Rutgers).
Four Big Ten teams: Indiana, Michigan State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
Two Pac-12 teams: Arizona State, Oregon State
One MAC team: Rider
Both of the other DI teams from New Jersey: Rider, Rutgers
These are teams that finished in the top-30 at the 2022 NCAA Championships: #4 Arizona State, #7 Cornell, #12 Oregon State, #14 Wisconsin, #20 Rutgers, #25 Lehigh, #26 Penn
Home Slate: Brown, Harvard, Lehigh, Rider, Rutgers
Away: Arizona State, Binghamton, Bucknell, Columbia, Cornell, Indiana, Penn
Neutral Site: Michigan State, Oregon State, Wisconsin
We spoke to Associate Head Coach Sean Gray, who was instrumental in putting together the 2022-23 schedule, about how and why this slate came together:
“Anyone! Anytime! Anywhere! Our entire team returns from last year and has potential to be the best team in Princeton wrestling history. So, putting the schedule together this year was a lot of fun and will feature some premier events and duals. New highlighted events will be the B1G/EIWA duals at the Prudential Center in Newark, as well as a featured dual with Oregon State in Austin and a dual in Tempe with ASU. The return of the Princeton Open will now feature a women's division, and some of the best women's teams in the country have already signed up. We have permanently moved all home events to Jadwin Gym and look forward to raising the roof in New Jersey's most historical wrestling venue."
Schedule breakdown's like this will be a regular feature as more team's release theirs.
November 6th - Princeton Open
It's difficult to project individual matchups like we will in duals, but here are some of the team's expected to send wrestlers: Buffalo, George Mason, Hofstra, Lehigh, Presbyterian, Rider, Rutgers, Sacred Heart, in addition to a handful of non-DI schools.
The fun addition to this event is that there will be a women's open tournament ran simultaneously. Central Methodist, Emmanuel, Limestone, Presbyterian, and Ursinus are teams that are slated to enter women. Additionally, plenty of club teams are expected like Columbia/NYCRTC, Drexel, Princeton, Rutgers, and Lehigh.
November 18th - at Indiana
It must be alumni day! Princeton Associate Head Coach, Joe Dubuque, won a pair of national titles for the Hoosiers in 2005 and 2006. Assistant Coach Nate Jackson earned All-American honors for Indiana in 2016 and 2017 and is the most recent IU wrestler to get on the podium. A bout with Indiana would feature a matchup between NCAA qualifiers at 184 with DJ Washington of the homesteading Hoosiers and Travis Stefanik for the Tigers. The Rooks brothers (Cayden and Graham) also qualified for nationals in 2021 at 141 and 149. That could set up a both between Graham and 2022 national qualifier Marshall Keller.
December 4th - #10 Wisconsin @ Newark, New Jersey (Prudential Center)
December 4th - Michigan State @ Newark, New Jersey (Prudential Center)
For the second consecutive year, the Prudential Center will host a dual event featuring a local New Jersey team(s) taking on other quality squads.
The Wisconsin dual could be an incredible one! There could be a pair of matches between returning AA's with Patrick Glory and Wisconsin's Eric Barnett at 125, along with Quincy Monday and 2022 Freshman of the Year, Dean Hamiti. This could be Monday's first significant test at 165. Another must-watch match from this dual features young, stud big men Luke Stout and Braxton Amos at 197 lbs. NCAA qualifiers Keller and Matthew Cover (285 lbs), could have their hands full with Austin Gomez and Trent Hillger, respectively.
Though not currently ranked, Michigan State isn't a team to overlook, as they spent time in the top-25 last year. Whoever takes the mat at 133 (Nick Kayal?), will have their hands full with two past AA's, Taylor LaMont and Michigan State's Rayvon Foley. Other enticing matchups include Layne Malczewski and Stefanik at 184 and Stout taking on former Big Ten finalist Cam Caffey at 197.
December 11th - #26 Rutgers
The battle for New Jersey supremacy? The Scarlet Knights should have a distinctly different lineup from the last time these two teams squared off. Former North Carolina national qualifier Joe Heilmann slots in at 133, while Sammy Alvarez is back, likely at 141. Redshirt freshman Anthony White takes over at 149 and 2021 All-American Jackson Turley is expected to be healthy and at 174 lbs. One marquee match that didn't occur in last season's dual was at 184 with Stefanik and 2021 AA John Poznanski. After a few weeks, we should have a better read on both teams, as it looks like a toss-up right now.
December 29th/30th - Midlands Championships @ Evanston, Illinois
The Midlands is always one of the cornerstone events of the collegiate wrestling calendar. We don't have a full entry list yet, but expect plenty of Big Ten and midwest teams in attendance. Princeton's superstars should get tested, while the rest of the roster will have the opportunity to pick up wins.
January 7th - F&M Open @ Lancaster, Pennsylvania
With the Midlands about a week ahead of the F&M Open, I wouldn't expect a full squad in Lancaster, but, who knows? Last year's edition of this open tournament featured wrestlers from Army West Point, Air Force, Virginia, Navy Prep, Lock Haven, Columbia, Brown, North Carolina, Edinboro, Harvard, and NC State. With only a few open's in January and beyond, there could be some teams that need matches and will send wrestlers.
January 13th - Oregon State @ Austin, Texas
This match takes place in Austin, Texas and is likely affiliated with FloWrestling, in some form or fashion. Right off the bat, we have returning All-American's Glory and Brandon Kaylor battling. Kaylor was the only wrestler in Detroit, pre-finals, that held Glory to a regular decision. The other bout that stands out is at 184 with Stefanik and Trey Munoz, who was seeded sixth at NCAA's, but was a match shy of placing. As we've seen, Stefanik will certainly get tested early and often. Oregon State has a lot of new faces, so we'll see if more big matches develop.
January 15th - at #8 Arizona State
Two days later, Princeton stays in the southwest and takes on Pac-12 power, Arizona State. Half the Sun Devil lineup has already earned All-American honors at least once in their careers and will make for a uphill battle. At 125, the past two NCAA's runner's-up clash, with Glory and Brandon Courtney. The two mets in Jadwin last year and Glory dominated, 12-6. Michael McGee (133), Kyle Parco (149), Jacori Teemer (157), and Cohlton Schultz (285) account for ASU's remaining AA's. Transfer Anthony Montalvo should provide a boost and a stiff test for Stefanik.
January 20th - at Columbia
Columbia is an emerging program in the Ivy/EIWA and will only continue to get tougher. Last years dual was all Princeton, 27-12. EIWA champ Matt Kazimir leads the way at 141; however, he was pushed to the limit by Danny Coles in a 1-0 win for the Lion star. The headline match in this meet features Monday and 2022 EIWA finalist Josh Ogunsanya. Columbia has recruited well, of late, so some of their young talent could infiltrate the lineup before mid-January.
January 21st - Rider
We said the Rutgers dual would be for New Jersey supremacy. I'm sure Rider doesn't take kindly to that suggestion. With McKenzie Bell returning to 141 lbs after a redshirt season and moving Quinn Kinner to 149, That sets up some solid matches with Bell/Coles and Kinner/Keller. The must-see match of this dual takes place at 197 lbs, with Stout and Ethan Laird. Laird is another Bronc coming off redshirt and was a Round of 12 finisher at 285 in 2021.
January 27th - Harvard
Harvard is another team that should have a handful of new faces in their lineup. The only probable matchup between past national qualifiers takes place at 285 lbs, between Cover and Yaraslau Slavikouski. Slavikouski made the 2021 Cliff Keen finals before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
January 28th - Brown
It will probably be another year or two before Jordan Leen's team is able to push a ranked squad like Princeton.
February 4th - at #6 Cornell
This has quickly turned into one of the best rivalries in the sport with Princeton ending Cornell's stranglehold on the Ivy League (and EIWA) in 2020. Provided Vito Arujau is back at 125, we should get another classic between he and Glory. The Tiger star took two-of-three from Arujau last season. 165 could be a possible conference final-type match between Monday and Round of 12 finisher Julian Ramirez. At 197, Stout and Jacob Cardenas split bouts last season, with Stout getting the postseason victory at EIWA's.
February 4th - at Binghamton
It'll be a busy day for Stout as he's expected to see 2021 All-American Louie DePrez later in the evening. Stout lost a pair of matches against DePrez in 2021-22, including one in the conference finals. With some weight-shifting, we'll likely get the first meeting between Monday/Brevin Casella at 165 and Stefanik/Jacob Nolan at 184.
February 10th - at #16 Penn
The Ivy is no longer a two-horse race between Cornell and Princeton, as Penn has thrown their hat in the ring. The Quakers downed the Tigers 20-13 last year in dual action and announced their presence emphatically. Penn has ten returning national qualifiers on the roster, so any sort of starting lineup should be imposing and filled with intriguing matchups. Some of best matches from last year's dual include Kayal/Mike Colaiocco at 133 and Stout/Cole Urbas at 197. Penn is another team with an impressive set of recruits coming in. Though they have an excellent group of returners, if one is replaced with a freshman, that just indicates how tough the new kid is.
February 11th - #21 Lehigh
Lehigh is a team that had a deceiving dual record. They wrestled one of the most difficult schedules in the nation and dealt with their share of injuries, so they were definitely a “tough-out†judging by Princeton's 20-16 win last year. One of the conference's best rivalries has been Monday and Josh Humphreys, at 157, so this year we won't get treated to another chapter in that series. This time it should be Monday and Brian Meyer.
The Mountain Hawks should have a different look from the last time these two teams clashed. They have big-time transfers at 184 and 197 lbs, with Tate Samuelson and Michael Beard. Those should make for great matches with Stefanik and Stout and will make the conference deeper at each weight. Jaret Lane (125) and Manzona Bryant (149) were both out of the Lehigh lineup during the 21-22 dual meet and pair off with Glory and Keller. At heavyweight, Nathan Taylor looks like he could be a threat, but he did fall to Cover at the F&M Open.
February 17th - at Bucknell
This EIWA opponent wasn't on the dual schedule, so we'll get to see some semi-new matchups. Though none made the NCAA Tournament in 2022, the Bison are really solid at 133-157 lbs with Kurt Phipps/Darren Miller/Kolby DePron/Nick Delp. Bucknell could be a tough matchup, just based on that group of competitors.
March 4/5th - EIWA Championships at Penn
The EIWA tournament is always great, but with some combination of Princeton/Cornell/Penn expected to contend for the title, on the Quakers home turf, can only add to the intensity.
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