HARTFORD, CT – The Williams College Ephs traveled south to Hartford on Friday night to square off with the Trinity College Bantams in their first dual meet of the season against Division III competition.
The meet began at 125 and progressed in ascending order by weight class. Unfortunately, on the day the Ephs did not have grapplers able to compete at 125 and 133, giving Trinity a 12-point advantage from the get-go.
The action began at 141 with first year
Tylor Stubbs facing off with Alexander Schaeublin. Both wrestlers came out of the gate hot, putting up a combined 19 points on each other in the first period via a flurry of takedowns. Schaeublin took the bulk of these points though, leaving Stubbs with a 13-6 deficit to overcome as he entered the second period in top position. The second stanza was markedly different, with each only adding a point to their tallies, leaving Stubbs down 14-7 with two-minutes to try to pull off a huge comeback. It was not in the cards as Schaeublin maintained his lead, ending the match at 17-8 with a major decision victory and boosting Trinity's overall lead to 16-0.
Next up was
Donnie Morton at 149, wrestling the Bantams' Chris Perry. Perry picked up an early takedown in the first period, but Morton was resolute in his defense, preventing Perry from getting anything more while on the ground, riding out the first period with only a 3-0 deficit. Morton began the second period in top position and Perry was able to escape and then tack on a takedown a few seconds later, bringing the score to 7-0. Perry added an extra point while grappling with Morton on the floor. It was much of the same in the third as Morton found himself unable to escape Perry, leading to a 10-0 win by major decision for the Trinity representative.
With the Ephs now in a 20-point hole, standout sophomore
Peter Kane stepped up to center stage at 157 to face Trinity's Chase Ledbury. In what has proved to be typical fashion for Kane so far this season, he wasted no time in overpowering his opponent and picking up a pin in under 60 seconds – 26 to be exact. This quick victory subdued the Bantam crowd and got Williams on the scoreboard.
With the score now standing at 20-6, freshman phenom
Henry Forte stepped up, looking to continue his fine form from Rochester and Springfield in which he took first place at 165 in each invitational. His opponent was Tucker Vician. Forte quickly set the tone with a rapid takedown, but Vician was stingy in his defense, staying on his stomach as Forte maneuvered for a pin. After another early takedown in the second period, Forte was all over Vician, nearly pinning him on at least two occasions. While Vician was able to avoid an early end to the match, he wasn't able to do so without conceding a bevy of points to Forte in the process, who built an 11-0 advantage leading into the final frame. The third period was much of the same before ending 29 seconds in as Forte earned a tech fall victory. This shut-out result cut the Bantams' advantage down to single digits at 20-11.
Next up, in a battle of experienced wrestlers, senior captain Will Smith took on Trinity's Adam Frost at 174. Frost got the best of Smith on the day, earning a first period tech fall to give Trinity some breathing room, bringing the score to 25-11.
Now, with three matches to go, the Ephs were tasked with making up a 14-point deficit to have a chance at leaving Hartford with their first dual meet victory of the season.
Fellow senior and Smith's co-captain
Dante Gutbrod stepped up at 184 to face Marco Bragado. The first period ended 6-2 in favor of Gutbrod after a pair of takedowns and escapes. Bragado began the second period with an escape from bottom position to bring the score to 6-3 before another takedown and escape raised it to 9-4. In the final period, Gutbrod began in bottom position and did not escape but was able to ride out the two minutes with a strong defensive performance, keeping the score at 9-4 and securing himself a win by decision, adding three points to the team tally.
With the score now at 25-14, a victory for the Ephs was still in grasp, but it would require at least a win by tech fall and another by pin or forfeit in the final two bouts.
Determined to keep the rally for a comeback victory alive was
Wyatt Moyer at 197 who faced off with John Fiore. The match began slow with a scoreless first period as the two grapplers felt each other out. Moyer kicked off the scoring in the second period with an escape out of bottom position. He followed this up with a takedown, from which Fiore quickly escaped, bringing the score to 4-1. Entering the third period with a 4-1 lead, Moyer knew he would need to be aggressive to look to keep his team in it by earning a pin or tech fall. Fiore earned an additional point to begin the third as he escaped from bottom position and that concluded the scoring, earning Moyer a 4-2 win by decision which was not enough to keep the Ephs' hopes alive.
In the final match of the evening,
Thomas Goodwin represented Williams at 285 against Timothy Glynn. Goodwin dominated Glynn from start to finish, building a 13-0 advantage in the first period. Goodwin kept the edge in the second period, pinning Glynn 32 seconds in to conclude the meet, bringing the final score to 25-23 in Trinity's advantage.
Overall, in the eight matches that were contested, the Ephs posted a 5-3 record, which will be encouraging for the team moving forward. The team will now take a few weeks off from competition for finals period and the holidays before returning to action at home in historic Lasell Gymnasium on Saturday, January 6
th for the Williams Open.
