Columbia University
Penn*
Wrestling Drops Five Squeakers and Loses to Penn, 25-9
2/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
When those three were designated as the first three in the match, the coaches were even happier. They would give Columbia a good start to the Ivy League contest.
And that's just what happened. The three did provide a good start -- to Penn, which swept all three, as well as five of the other seven, to defeat the Lions, 25-9.
"All three were good matchups for us," said Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling. "We thought we could win two of the three, or all three."
Penn's Lior Zamir opened the scoring at 165 with a 7-2 victory over Dustin Tillman (Fremont, Calif.). That brought up the marquee matchup between Columbia All-American Matt Palmer (Germantown, Md.), ranked seventh in the nation despite a series of injuries that had limited him to just 11 bouts all season, and Matt Herrington, who was ranked 13th nationally.
Herrington scored first, a two-point takedown that Columbia disputed, arguing that Palmer had slipped. Palmer escaped before the period ended to trail, 2-1.
Incredibly, that was the extent of the offensive scoring. Herrington went up 3-1 on an escape in the second period, Palmer closed to 3-2 when he escaped from Herrington's grasp in the third. But neither was able to post a takedown and the bout ended, 3-2 in Penn's favor.
"After he took the lead," Buckley said, "Herrington did a good job. He held on to that lead." Penn coach Zeke Jones agreed. "Matt did a nice job," he said. "I believe this is the first time he's beaten [Palmer]. He came focused and came up with a plan, and his conditioning really showed in the match." Junior Justin Barent (Worland, Wyo.) took the mat at 184, just a few days after his major upset over Army's Luke Calvert. But Penn senior co-captain Dustin Wiles scored takedowns in the second and third periods to triumph, 5-2.
"Barent was in on Wiles a couple of times, but he just didn't finish," Buckley said. "He wasn't aggressive enough."
Trailing 9-0, Columbia fell further behind when co-captain Paul Velekei won an 18-6 major decision at 197 over Orrin Kleinhenz (Columbus, Ind.). But heavyweight Bill Beechum (Marion, Ohio) halted the Penn drive when he posted his first collegiate fall in his second college match, pinning Jack Sullivan in just 1:09.
"Bill really looks like a quality heavyweight," Buckley observed. "He's a very good athlete and he's strong. He's dangerous out there."
Beechum's victory brought Columbia back within seven points, 13-6, with five matches still to go. Two were against the Lions' excellent lightweight pair, Jeff Sato (Pismo Beach, Calif.) at 125 and Matt DeLorenzo (Wantagh, N.Y.) at 133.
Both wrestled what Buckley called "really smart, solid matches," but both lost. Sato dropped a 1-0 squeaker to 18th-ranked Mike Silengo, who had also beaten Jeff by 8-2 in December's Midlands Open, and DeLorenzo lost to 9th-ranked Matt Valenti, 2-0.
"Jeff wrestled very well against Silengo," Buckley noted. "He should have won when he got a takedown right at the end of the match, but the referee didn't call it. He shot in several times with a single leg, but couldn't finish. `Delo' also created a number of scoring situations, and just didn't finish them. Valenti rode him out at the end."
Although down 19-6, Columbia wasn't out of it, with three bouts to go. First-year Sal Tirico (Lodi, N.J.), who had been out with an injury, made an excellent return when he upset Penn first-year Cesar Grajales, 3-2, on the basis of 1:25 in riding time. "Sal was very smart," Buckley said. "He controlled the entire match." Grajales is ranked second in the EIWA.
Junior Ricky Turk (Crestline, Calif.) then took the mat at 149 pounds. Turk's match at Princeton the previous day had been his first since mid-December, and the rust showed when Penn first-year sensation Matt Dragon hit a five-point move to lead, 5-2, in the first period. Dragon is ranked 13th nationally, but Turk fought back to within 6-5 before losing another squeaker.
First-year Derek Sickles (Rutherford, N.J.) was unable to handle the 20th-ranked Gene Zanetti, as the Penn standout overcame a 2-0 deficit and beat Sickles, 10-4, to close out the match.
"This match was closer than the score indicated," Buckley said, and Penn's coach agreed. "Columbia came out ready to challenge us and we squeaked by with some of those victories," Zeke Jones said. "It was a hard-fought victory for Penn today."
The Lions (5-7, 1-2 Ivy) will see a great deal of mat time next week in Columbia's first Hall of Fame Weekend. They face Wagner and Brown in a triangular Friday and Duke and Harvard in another triangular Saturday, both in University Gym.
Following the Columbia-Duke match, there will be an Appreciation Ceremony honoring Andrew F. Barth '83 CC; '85 BUS for his contributions to Columbia Wrestling.
PENN 25, COLUMBIA 9
165 - Lior Zamir, Penn, dec. Dustin Tillman, 7-2
174 - Matt Herrington, Penn, dec. Matt Palmer, 3-2
184 - Justin Wiles, Penn, dec. Justin Barent, 5-2
197 - Paul Velekei, Penn, dec. Orrin Kleinhenz, 18-6
Hwt - Bill Beechum, Columbia, pinned Jack Sullivan, 1:09
125 - Mike Silengo, Penn, dec. Jeff Sato, 1-0
133 - Matt Valenti, Penn, dec. Matt DeLorenzo, 2-0
141 - Sal Tirico, Columbia, dec. Cesar Grajales, 3-2
149 - Matt Dragon, Penn, dec. Ricky Turk, 6-5
157 - Gene Zanetti, Penn, dec. Derek Sickles, 10-4
Players Mentioned
