WORCESTER, MA -- The Williams College wrestling team traveled to
Worcester to compete against three of the top teams in the country:
WPI, Oneonta St., and Johnson and Wales. The later two teams are
ranked 30th and 23rd in the country respectively. The Ephs proved
themselves to be one of the top teams sweeping their
competition.
The Ephs began the tournament impressively. Against Oneonta St.,
Senior Nate Shippee opened the match with a dominating major
decision (10-1) over Josh Wake the 10th ranked wrestler in the
country. Junior Ryan Malo followed up Shippee's performance
with a pin. Freshman Tom Foote kept the Ephs momentum alive by
defeating the 3rd ranked wrestler in the Empire Conference, James
Lamonica (7-6). The match was put out of reach by the lightweight
duo of Josh Mattana and Kaison Tanabe. Mattana won on points 5-2
and Tanabe made short work of Richard Benigno, pinning him in a
minute.
The second match of the day was a clash of the titans with the
15th ranked Ephs squaring off against 23rd ranked Johnson and
Wales. Coach Dan DiCenzo saw this match as a great measuring stick
for the Ephs, “I knew the dual meet with JWU would be close.
I really felt it would come down to bonus points since it looked
like both teams would win five matches each. I was hoping we could
push the pace and upset some of their top wrestlers but they
wrestled very tough.”
The Big Four, Ryan Malo, Dylan Rittenburg, Corey Paulish, and Carl
Breitenstein did not disappoint. After two tough losses at 174 and
184 Ryan Malo got the Ephs on the scoreboard with pin at 3:07.
Coach DiCenzo was pleased with Malo's effort saying, "Ryan
and I talked during the week and he knew how important it was for
him to try and get a pin. Ryan was wrestling the 3rd ranked
wrestler in NE who attempted neutralize Malo's explosiveness
by slowing the pace of the match. He was wrestling to not get
pinned. As a coach I know how hard it is to get a pin at the
collegiate level and, at times, Ryan makes it look easy."
Freshman Tom Foote continued his impressive rookie campaign
defeating Humphrey Swift (5-2). This match was the turning point
for the Ephs in the match. Coach DiCenzo was pleased with the poise
his freshman showed in such an important match. “If Foote
lost it would have been very difficult for us to win the meet. He
wrestled very smart, showed great toughness and got a huge win for
himself and the team. Overall at 285 on the day we were 5-0 with
Foote, Mirkovic, and Curzi and we have not done that in over 6
years."
Corey Paulish, wrestling at 149, showed just how explosive a
wrestler his is, defeating Andrew Van Dyke by tech fall. After
being down 4-0 after the first period he rattled off 20 unanswered
points. The match was called at 5:36.
Dylan Rittenburg and Carl Breitenstein rounded out the Ephs 20-17
victory with wins over two talented opponents.
In the third match of the day the Ephs dominated WPI winning 41-9.
The match was highlighted by Josh Mattana who, wrestling at 125,
pinned Carl Anderson, the 6th ranked wrestler in the country. Coach
DiCenzo saw Mattana's performance as a watershed moment in
his career saying, “Josh stepped up and wrestled with
confidence. He was up 8-3 in the third period when he got the pin.
Josh works really hard and when you wrestle [against] Josh you need
to be ready to compete for seven minutes.”
Overall the WPI quad was a great experience for the Ephs. Coach
DiCenzo summed up the tournament saying, "I was very pleased with
the overall team effort yesterday. We wrestled three strong teams;
two of which are ranked in the country, and did a great job of
competing at a high level."
The Ephs will take a short break for the holidays and return to
the mats December 28th in the Wilkes Open.
Match #1
Williams 31, Oneonta State 15
Weight Result Score/Time Running Score
174 Chris Wade (OS) Dec. George Sullivan (WC) 13-8 0-3
184 Nathan Shippee (WC) Major Dec. Josh Wake (OS) 10-1 4-3
197 Ryan Malo (WC) Pinned Wala Canario (OS) 2:25 10-3
285 Tom Foote (WC) Dec. James Lamonica (OS) 7-6 13-3
125 Josh Mattana (WC) Dec. Derek Conant (OS) 5-2 16-3
133 Kaison Tanabe (WC) Pinned Richard Benigno (OS) 1:00 22-3
141 Zach Crain (OS) Pinned Dylan Rittenburg (WC) 7:37 (SV)
22-9
149 Corey Paulish (WC) Dec Matt Eberlein (OS) 11-4 25-9
157 Carl Breitenstein (WC) Pinned John Rocha (OS) 6:01 31-9
165 Eric Simmons (OS) Injury Default Robert Brackup (WC) -----
31-15
Match #2
Williams 20, Johnson & Wales 17
Weight Result Score/Time Running Score
174 Colin Lenhardt (JWU) Dec. George Sullivan (WC) 10-6 0-3
184 Brennan Ward (JWU) Major Dec. Nathan Shippee (WC) 12-4 0-7
197 Ryan Malo (WC) Pinned Patrick McCrohan (JWU) 3:07 6-7
285 Tom Foote (WC) Dec. Humphrey Swift (JWU) 5-2 9-7
125 Michael Bastante (JWU) Dec. Josh Mattana (WC) 8-5 9-10
133 Nicholas Cucciniello (JWU) Dec. Cesare Antista (WC) 7-1
9-13
141 Dylan Rittenburg (WC) Dec. John Donaleski (JWU) 3-0 12-13
149 Corey Paulish (WC) Tech Fall Andrew Van Dyk (JWU) 20-4 (5:36)
17-13
157 Carl Breitenstein (WC) Dec. Anthony Pierro (JWU) 6-1 20-13
165 Jordan Corona (JWU) Major Dec. Zeb Levine (WC) 14-5 20-17
Match #3
Williams 41, WPI 9
Weight Result Score/Time Running Score
174 David Cardenas (WPI) Dec. Andrew Gatewood (WC) 5-0 0-3
184 Nathan Shippee (WC) Pinned Mike Ducey (WPI) 1:34 6-3
197 Ryan Malo (WC) Pinned Kenny Adams (WPI) 0:44 12-3
285 Nikola Mirkovic (WC) Dec. Joe Pasquerelli (WPI) 5-2 15-3
125 Josh Mattana (WC) Pinned Carl Anderson (WPI) 6:13 21-3
133 KaisonTanabe (WC) Pinned Dan Metcalf (WPI) 1:28 27-3
141 Cesare Antista (WC) Dec. Alex Pittera (WPI) 4-3 30-3
149 Corey Paulish (WC) Tech Fall Joseph Pellegrine (WPI) 17-1
(6:22) 35-3
157 Tyler Howe (WPI) Pinned Scott Sanderson (WC) 0:52 35-9
165 Carl Breitenstein (WC) Won by Forfeit ----- 41-9
