Columbia scored first in the match, as junior Brandon Kinney pinned Nikhil Pereira 1:26 into their 125 match. Kinney had an early takedown, but Pereira was able to escape. Once Kinney took his opponent down again, he was able to get a pin to give the Lions six points to open the conference match.
"We always like to see (Brandon) Kinney start the match off with a win," said Columbia's Brendan Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling. "It set us in the right direction tonight."
There was no 133 pound bout, as both teams forfeited the weight class. The Lions also forfeited 141, giving Danny Scotton of Princeton a victory.
With the team score tied at 6-6, senior Dean Kinports, who hadn't wrestled since capturing the New York state crown, took control of his match at 149 against Eric Marcotulli. Kinports had two takedowns and a near fall in the first period, to take a 7-1 lead. He added to his advantage with near falls in the second and third periods, and was awarded a technical fall at 6:50.
At 157, sophomore Derek Sickles wrestled Mike Alvarez. Sickles controlled most of the match, taking Alvarez down twice and riding him out. Trailing 9-3 entering the third period, Alvarez scored a takedown, but was unable to contain Sickles who won a major decision, 13-5. Sickles's victory increased Columbia's lead to 15-6 midway through the match.
Columbia seniors earned three consecutive victories at 165, 174 and 184, as Dustin Tillman, Matt Palmer and Justin Barent won their matches. At 165, Tillman pinned Aaron Caps 14 seconds into their match for six team points. Palmer and Barent both earned technical falls, as Palmer won his 174 pound bout against John Clore at 4:23 and Barent took his match at 6:50. Palmer took a 13-3 lead into the final period before scoring a take down and near fall to grab five team points for the technical fall. Barent had a near flawless performance, as he only allowed one escape to Oliver Noteware. Barent's win increased the Columbia lead to 31-6.
"It was great to see these seniors get wins on senior night," Buckley said. "These nine seniors are all special guys . It has been a pleasure to get to know their families and each of them personally. The character and quality of the person of these individuals will certainly be missed. These seniors helped to put this program on the map and I will miss these wrestlers as much personally as I will on the mat."
At 197, newcomer Cory Aldrich wrestled Zach Morse. The first-year scored two take downs in the first period and had a reversal and near fall to enter the third period with a 9-1 advantage. Morse kept the match close with two take downs in the final period, including one as time expired, but it wasn't enough, as Alrdrich won the match 12-6.
"Alrdrich did a great job filling in for us at 197 and is making great progress this season for us," Buckley stated.
In the final match of the evening, Kevin Lester defeated Zach Siegel in the heavy weight division. The first period was closely contested and each wrestler had two take downs, but Lester managed a late reversal to gain a 6-4 lead. In the second stanza, Lester had another take down, but the scored remained close at 8-5 entering the final two minutes. The two wrestlers fought for position in the third, but when the buzzer sounded, Lester had accumulated a 14-7 advantage to earn three more team points for the Lions.
Lester's win gave Columbia a 37-6 victory on senior night, as Justin Barent, Matt DeLorenzo, John Grando, Sven Hafemeister, Dean Kinports, Devin Mesanko, Matt Palmer, Dustin Tillman and Ricky Turk were honored.
Princeton falls to 0-15 overall and 0-3 in the Ivy League.
Our team was really aggressive tonight, and were looking to score and pin," said Buckley. "Tonight's win is a confidence booster for tomorrow night's match."
Columbia will host Penn tomorrow at 7 p.m. in University Gym for the last home match of the season. The Lions will then travel to Providence, R.I. for a meeting with Brown on February 16, before finishing out the regular season in Cambridge, Mass. against Harvard and Bucknell on February 17.
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