WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Scott Honecker's Williams College wrestling team posted two convincing wins in Lasell Gym on Friday afternoon, downing Simpson College 34-11 and topping the University of Southern Maine 38-6.
With the two victories the Ephs move to 3-0 on the year, while Simpson falls to 1-5 and Southern Maine is now 6-3.
In the Simpson match the Ephs rolled out to a 25-0 lead with two forfeit wins (125 and 141) and then got a pin by Dan Evangelakos at 133 in 2:30, a decision by Tim Garripoli at 149 and a major decision from Jorge Lopez at 157.
Simpson's first points came in the sixth bout of the match at 165 where Shane Swank scored a major decision over the Ephs' Kyle Gaffney.
The Ephs also got a pin from Anthony Brooks at 197 in 3:22.
In their second match of the day the Ephs defeated Southern Maine by winning winning nine of the 10 bouts.
The lone win for Southern Maine came at 184 where Jonathan Deupree pinned Dan Kurnick in 2:15. The Ephs notched two pins in the match with Jorge Lopez winning in 4:45 at 157 and Martin Strenk winning in 1:50 at 174.
Eph head coach Scott Honecker paid tribute to his team's efforts today, but also their work over break that prepared them for their first action after the holiday break.
"Our guys deserve a ton of credit for their performance today," said Honecker. "They trained so hard over this break and the results were evident in both duals. We put in a total team effort that makes it difficult to single out individuals. Our guys were doing their thing from top to bottom, but the coaching staff is especially excited about first year heavyweight Ben Wertz going 2-0 in tight matches." Wertz joined the team late due to spending the fall season as part of the Eph football team.
"Daniel Evangelakos is wrestling at a top-tier caliber and the sky is the limit for what he can accomplish going forward," Honecker added. "Everyone else took care of business including 2-0 performances out of Dan Seidita, both Carson and Anthony Brooks, Garripoli, and Lopez. We need to ride this momentum into the weekend and maintain this tempo for the remainder of the season."
The Ephs return to action tomorrow morning in Lasell Gym when they host the 9-team Williams Invitational scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM.
Williams 34 Simpson 11
125 Dan Seidita (W) by forfeit - 6-0 W
133 Dan Evangelakos (W) pin Sam Richenbacher - 2:30 -- 12-0 W
141 Carson Brooks (W) by forfeit -- 18-0 W
149 Tim Garripoli (W) dec. Ryan Joint - 3-1 -- 21-0 W
157 Jorge Lopez (W) major dec. Jake Mize -- 25-0 W
165 Shane Swank (SC) major dec. Kyle Gaffney - 12-2 -- 25-4 W
174 Brett Roberts (SC) dec. Martin Strenk - 8-2 -- 25-7 W
184 Taylor Witzel (SC) major dec. Dan Kurnick - 8-0 -- 25-11 W
197 Anthony Brooks (W) pin Taylor Witzel - 3:22 -- 31-11 W
HWT Ben Wertz (W) OT dec. Colby Vlieger - 3-2 -- 34-11 W
Williams 38 Southern Maine 6
125 Dan Seidita (W) dec. Khalil Newbill - 5-1 -- 3-0 W
133 Dan Evangelakos (W) pin Vincent Bonina - 4:49 -- 9-0 W
141 Carson Brooks (W) dec. Kevin Moore - 9-2 -- 12-0 W
149 Tim Garripoli (W) dec. Daniel Del Gallo - 7-1 -- 15-0 W
157 Jorge Lopez (W) pin Rick Chipman - 4:45 -- 21-0 W
165 Kyle Gaffney (W) major dec. Rob Drover - 15-1 -- 25-0 W
174 Martin Strenk (W) pin Matt Harding - 1:50 -- 31-0 W
184 Jon Deupree (USM) pin DK Kurnick - 2:15 -- 31-6 W
197 Anthony Brooks (W) major dec. Mike Frey - 9-0 -- 35-6 W
285 Ben Wertz (W) OT dec. Josh Andrews - 5-4 -- 38-6 W
