WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Today, the Williams College Ephs hosted a quad meet against mnortheat foes Oneonta State, Plymouth State, and Wesleyan University.
In their first match Williams faced off against Oneonta State for the second time this season. Their first meeting ended in a close 21-17 loss for the Ephs. Today's result was an equally frustrating result for a short staffed Williams squad. Williams was forced to forfeit two crucial weight classes due to injury as well as losing another two matches by the narrowest of margins.
The dual started off with freshman stalwart Mike Lomio dropping a tough 1-0 decision to Brian Kramer.
Ryan Malo got the Ephs back on track with a decisive pin-fall victory over Derek Wignall a minute into the second period. Malo controlled the pace of the entire match and was able to quickly dispatch Wignall.
Heavyweight Tom Foote was nearly pinned early in the first period, but was able to recover and dictated the remainder of the match. After a tumultuous first period the match was no longer in question with Foote winning 9-3.
Senior Josh Mattana and Kaison Tanabe stretched the Ephs lead to 13 with two victories over David Bailen (13-2) and Ben Mikac (7-3).
Going into the 141 pound match Williams was in control, but Oneonta had weathered Eph offensive and won the next three matches, two of which were by forfeit. This put the Ephs down three with two matches left.
In one of the most exciting matches of the day Kyle Martin took on Frankie Provenzano. Throughout the match Martin showed a flare for the dramatic by virtue of two takedowns with less than five seconds left in the first and second periods. In the third period Provenzano threatened but Martin was able to close the door on Provenzano's comeback and was able tie the team scores at 19.
The 174 pound match was the pivotal battle of the day. With both teams tied Williams enlisted Senior Zeb Levine, typically a 165 pound wrestler, to wrestle up a weight class. Levine performed well but his adversary Chris Gevinski was able to take Levine down early in the first period. Gevinski carried a 2-0 lead late into the third period where he was able to catch Levine's last minute effort and stretched his lead to 4-0. Gevinski's victory gave Oneonta the Dual victory 22-19.
Coach Hasenfus had this to say about the Oneonta match, "I thought we wrestled pretty well against Oneonta. There was a controversial decision in the first match, and that set us back but that definitely did not prevent us from coming out on top. At the end of the day we just didn't get the job done. That being said I thought the team responded well to a lot of adversity, especially considering we had to forfeit a few matches and were without three of our regular starters."
The second match of the day pitted Williams against Litte Three rival Wesleyan University, a side whom they had fallen to 27-10 just two weeks ago. Williams got off to a fast start with 184 pound freshman Mike Lomio bouncing back from an earlier defeat to vanquish Jefferson Ajayi by one point. Lomio entered the match ranked 5th in NEWA while Ajayi was ranked 4th.
Ryan Malo was once again dominant wrestling at the 197 spot and never gave his opponent Luke Erickson much of a chance. After two periods in which Erickson was able to keep the match close Malo put the match away in the third with a flurry of reversals and take downs that extended his lead to 9-1.
Nikola Mirkovic competed in one of the most physical matches of the day. After two periods of wrestling Mirkovic led his opponent Jacob Sheffer 4-2. The third period was a back and forth affair with neither wrestler willing to concede the match. Mirkovic was able to overcome Sheffer by a final score of 10-6.
After going up 10-0 the Ephs dropped their next seven matches (three of which were by forfeit). The final score was Williams 10, Wesleyan 30.
"Compared to the last time we wrestled them [Wesleyan] I thought that our guys made a number of good improvements and it made us far more competitive against them," said a philosophical Hasenfus. He went on to say, "A number of guys wrestled well, especially Mike Lomio who did a great job leading us off. However, we still have a lot of work to do to close to gap and be ready to compete against them at New Englands."
In the third match of the day Williams was paired against third ranked Plymouth State. The Ephs were able to get back on the winning side thanks to a complete team effort and defeated Plymouth 26-18.
Mike Lomio battled his opponent Rob Phillips for the entire match. After hand fighting for the first period Phillips was the first to tally a point with a second period escape. Lomio matched him with a 3rd period escape of his own. At the end of regulation the score was 1-1. This led to a sudden victory overtime in which Phillips got the better of Lomio through a takedown with four seconds left in the period.
In the second match Ryan Malo secured his third victory on the day by making short work of Chris Rideout (wrestling up a weight class and ranked 3rd at 184). Malo needed only a minute to score his second pin on the day.
Tom Foote, ranked 3rd in NEWA was upset by Jacob Gagnon, ranked 6th, by a score of 6-1.
Freshman Taylor Treadgold was impressive in one of his first varsity matches. He dominated the entire match and nearly had a pin a number of times before settling for a 9-0 victory over Tyler Rosenberg.
Josh Mattana, wrestling up a weight class at 133 was undaunted by the challenge. He needed only a minute and a half into the second period to secure a pin.
Josh Mattana bumped sophomore Kaison Tanabe up a weight class as well. Tanabe toyed with his opponent Fred Reisch for much of the match, and cruised to a 13-5 victory.
The most spirited bout of the day was undoubtedly Carson Brooks' performance against Kyle Graham. Brooks was in control the entire match and had a number of near falls before putting the match away midway through the third period. Graham's efforts lifted the Ephs lead in the match to 26-6. This put the match out of reach for Plymouth who would go on to win the remainder of the bouts.
When asked about the adjustments made against Plymouth State coach Hasenfus stated, "Against Plymouth State we decided to bump up a number of wrestlers. This put a lot of pressure on the guys to perform, especially Carson Brooks who was wrestling up 2 weight classes, however he responded well and really came through for us with a pin. I thought it great for our guys to step up and come back to win our final dual meet."
Coach Hasenfus was pleased, but not satisfied with the result today saying, "Today the focus was on improving especially without three of our best players. I think we were successful and made some great strides as a team. Our efforts today are going to pay dividends for us at the New England Championships when we will wrestle against many of the same athletes."
The Ephs return to action next Saturday February 12th at Norwich. Action is set to begin at 1:00 pm.
Williams 19, Oneonta State 22
Weight/ Result/ Match Score/ Team Score
184 Brian Kramer (ON) Dec. Mike Lomio (WC) 1-0, 0-3
197 Ryan Malo (WC) Fall Derek Wignall (ON) 4:08 6-3
285 Tom Foote (WC) Dec. Vincent Barber (ON) 9-3, 9-3
125 Josh Mattana (WC) Maj. Dec David Bailen (ON) 13-2, 13-3
133 Kaison Tanabe (WC) Dec. Ben Mikac (ON) 7-3 16-3
141 Michael Gregg (ON) Maj. Dec.Carson Brooks (WC) 14-2, 16-7
149- Daniel Graff (ON) Forfiet (WC) -- 16-13
157- Jay Piso (ON) Forfiet (WC) --16-19
165 Kyle Martin (WC) Dec. Frankie Provenzano (ON) 8-3 19-19
174 Chris Gevinski (ON) Dec. Zeb Levine (WC) 4-0—19-21
Williams 10, Wesleyan University 30
Weight/ Result/ Match Score/ Team Score
184 Mike Lomio (WC) Dec. Jefferson Ajayi (WES) 4-3, 3-0
197 Ryan Malo (WC) Maj. Dec. Luke Erickson (WES) 9-1, 7-0
285 Nikola Mirkovic (WC) Dec. Jacob Sheffer (WES) 10-6, 10-0
125 Chris Alvanos (WES) Dec. Josh Mattana (WC) 6-5, 10-3
133 Maika Nagata (WES) Dec. Kaison Tanabe (WC) 10-4, 10-6
141 Nick Scotto (WES) Forfeit (WC) -- 10-12
149 Howard Tobochnik (WES) Forfeit (WC) -- 10-18
157 Troy Sampson (WES) Forfeit (WC) -- 10-24
165 Thomas Oddo (WES) Dec. Kyle Martin (WC) 4-2, 10-27
174 Kyle Roosa (WES) Dec. Mir Henglin (WC) 11-5, 10-30
Williams College 26, Plymouth State 18
Weight/ Result/ Match Score/ Team Score
184 Rob Phillips (P) Dec. Mike Lomio (WC) 1-3, 0-3
197 Ryan Malo (WC) Fall Chris Rideout (P) 1:01, 6-3
285 Jacob Gagnon (P) Dec. Tom Foote (WC) 1-6, 6-6
125 Taylor Treadgold (WC) Maj. Dec. Tyler Rosenberg (P) 9-0 10-6
133 Josh Mattana (WC) Fall Michael Trask (P) 4:30, 16-6
141 Kiason Tanabe (WC) Maj. Dec. Fred Reisch (P) 13-5 20-6
149 Carson Brooks (WC) Fall Kyle Graham (P) 5:47 26-6
157 Travis Brooks (P) Forfeit (WC) -- 26-12
165 James Matlack (P) Dec. Kyle Martin (WC) 12-7, 26-15
174 Seth Carter (P) Maj. Dec. Zeb Levine (WC) 7-19, 26-18
Wesleyan 24, Oneonta 15
184 Jefferson Ajayi (WES) Dec. Brian Kramer (ON) 7-6. 3-0
197 Stephen Provenzano (ON) Fall Luke Erickson (WES) :42, 3-6
285 Dave Amrhein (WES) Dec. Vincent Barber (ON) 4-1, 6-6
125 Cris Alvanos (WES) Maj. Dec. David Bailen (ON) 15-3, 10-6
133 Andrew Cabibbo (ON) Dec. Maika Nagata (WES) 4-5, 10-9
141 Michael Gregg (ON) Dec. Nick Scotto (WES) 8-2, 10-12
149 Howard Tobochnik (WES) Fall Daniel Graff (ON) 2:38, 16-12
157 J.P. Sala (ON) Dec. Troy Sampson (WES) 5-4, 16-15
165 Tom Oddo (WES) Dec. Frankie Provenzano (ON) 4-2, 19-15
174 Kyle Roosa (WES) Tech Fall Chris Gevinski 15-0, 24-15
Plymouth State 18, Oneonta State 30
184 Brian Kramer (ON) Dec. Chris Rideout (P) 6-1, 0-3
197 Rob Phillips (P) Dec Derek Wignall (ON) 3-2, 3-3
285 Jacob Gagnon (P) Fall Steve Provenzano (ON) :22, 9-3
125 David Bailen (ON) Maj. Dec. Tyler Rosenberg (P) 9-1, 9-7
133 Ben Mikac (ON) Fall Micheal Trask (P) Fall 4:51, 9-13
141 Mike Gregg (ON) Pat Cassella (P) Fall 6:59, 9-19
149 Daniel Graff (ON) Tech Fall Kyle Graham (P) 19-2, 9-24
157 J.P. Sala (ON) Fall Travis Brooks (P) :59, 9-30
165 James Matlack (P) Dec. Frankie Provenzano (ON) 5-4, 12-30
174 Seth Carter (P) Fall Chris Gevinski (ON) :45, 18-30
Wesleyan 39, Plymouth State 4
184 Jefferson Ajayi (WES) Dec Rob Phillips (P) 3-1, 3-0
197 Luke Erickson (WES) Dec. Chris Rideout (P) 7-1, 6-0
285 Jacob Gagnon (P) Maj. Dec Dave Amrhein (WES) 13-3, 6-4
125 Chris Alvanos (WES) Fall Tyler Rosenberg (P) 6:13, 12-4
133 Maika Nagata (WES) Fall Eric Bergman (P) 1:39, 18-4
141Nick Scotto (WES) Fall Pat Cassella (P) 2:29, 24-4
149 Howard Tobochnik (WES) Fall Kyle Graham (P) 2:20, 30-4
157 Troy Sampson (WES) Dec Travis Brooks (P) 11-6, 33-4
165 Tom Oddo (WES) Dec. James Matlack (P) 7-1, 36-4
174 Kyle Roosa (WES) Dec Daniel Curley (P) 9-4, 39-4
