"We looked very good," Brendan Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling said. "I'm pleased."
Columbia had lost its last two matches, to Eastern power Army by one point and national power Cornell by 38, but rebounded with the Ivy League win over the Tigers (6-7 overall, 0-3 Ivy). The Lions won nine of the 10 bouts, losing only at 174 pounds.
The match marked the return of 149-lb. junior RIcky Turk (Crestline, Calif.), who had not wrestled since facing Hofstra in a dual meet December 11. A practice injury put him on the sidelines for nearly two months.
Turk, who boasted an 11-4 record when he was injured, opened the Princeton contest with a technical fall, worth five team points. He beat Andrew Sichel, 17-2., as the bout was halted after 3:29.
Beechum's absence from the sport was even longer — four years longer! In his first wrestling match since finishing third in the 2002 Ohio state high school championships, Beechum shocked veteran Princeton heavyweight Ian Roncoroni with a 15-6 major decision.
Beechum had limited himself to football at Columbia. A two-year starter , he had been one of the team's top defensive ends, and a co-captain in 2005, his senior season. Strong and rugged, he figured to be a good addition to the wrestling squad, but an injury suffered in his next-to-last football game had sidelined him until this week.
"Billy looked great," the coach said. "He's very talented. A very good athlete." Buckley was also impressed with Turk. "Ricky looked really good," he observed, "in spite of his long layoff."
Several other Lions impressed.
First-year Derek Sickles (Rutherford, N.J.), in his first bout at 157 this season, notched his first victory since December 28, beating Jesse Palermo, 7-2. And fellow first-year Orrin Kleinhenz (Columbus, Ind.) similarly halted a losing streak when he pinned Logan Lowe at 197 pounds, in just 1:50.
Sophomore Brandon Kinney (Haslett, Mich.), substituting for the injured Jeff Sato, increased his record to 17-7, tying Sato for the team lead, when he posted a technical fall, also by 17-2, over Robert Benitez. Junior Justin Barent (Worland, Wyo.) had the match's only other fall, in 2:43 over Jared Nicholson, and two men posted major decisions — junior Dustin Tillman (Fremont, Calif.), 14-4 over Martin Everin at 165, and junior Dean Kinports (La Mesa, Calif.), 9-1 over Eric Marcotulli at 141.
Barent's victory was his 15th, while Tillman improved to 12-6.
Now 5-6 overall, 1-1 in the Ivy League, Columbia travels to Philadelphia to wrestle Penn, the nation's 22nd-ranked team. The Quakers fell to 2-1 in the Ivy League today when they lost to 14th-ranked Cornell, 20-12. The match will be held in the Palestra at 1 p.m.
Columbia 43, Princeton 3
149 - Ricky Turk, Columbia, won by technical fall over Andrew Sichel, 17-2, 3:29
157 - Derek Sickles, Columbia, dec. Jesse Palermo, 7-2
165 - Dustin Tillman, Columbia, dec. Martin Everin, 14-4
174 - Matthew DeNichilo, Princeton, dec. Kenji Porter, 9-5
184 - Justin Barent, Columbia, pinned Jared Nicholson, 2:43
197 - Orrin Kleinhenz, Columbia, pinned Logan Lowe, 1:50
Hwt - Billy Beechum, Columbia, dec. Ian Roncoroni, 15-6
125 - Brandon Kinney, Columbia, won by technical fall over Robert Benitez, 17-2, 1:51
133 - Eric Amstutz, Columbia, won by forfeit
141 - Dean Kinports, Columbia, dec. Eric Marcotulli, 9-1
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