Lions Win At Penn; Fall At No. 16 Princeton In Ivy League Doubleheader

Saturday, February 8

Philadelphia, Pa.

11:30 a.m.

Columbia University

Penn

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/David Collins

Lions Win At Penn; Fall At No. 16 Princeton In Ivy League Doubleheader

2/8/2020 10:50:00 PM | Wrestling

Box Score (Penn)Box Score (Princeton)Photo Gallery (Penn)Photo Gallery (Princeton)

First-year Angelo Rini once again handed Columbia Wrestling a walk-off win with a victory at Penn.

PHILADELPHIA/PRINCETON, N.J. – In a busy day for Columbia Wrestling (6-4, 6-3 EIWA/1-2 IVY) first-year Angelo Rini once again came up big in the final match, scoring a win via decision to earn the Lions a walk-off, 17-15 win at Penn (5-6, 4-3 EIWA/2-2 IVY), before falling at No. 16 Princeton (5-4, 4-0 EIWA/3-0 IVY), 28-9, in a full weekend that saw Columbia go 2-1 over three matches.

Entering the final match at Penn, the Lions were trailing 15-14 and needed Rini (133) to come up big, and big he did, earning a 4-3 decision on a late takedown to secure the first Ivy League win of the season for Columbia.

Say it with us .... CARDIAC RINI .... CARDIAC RINI DOES IT AGAIN!!! 😤😤😤#Team117 | #RoarLionRoar pic.twitter.com/0AlMs38NP5
— Columbia Wrestling (@ColumbiaWR) February 8, 2020

Joining Rini in wins at Penn were first years Kyle Mosher (157), Lennox Wolak (174), along with sophomores Joe Franzese (184) and Danny Conley (285), while at Princeton sophomore, No. 27 Matt Kazimir, earned a win while Rini and Conley added to their win totals for the Lions' three wins.

"Today was a real encouraging day for Columbia Wrestling," said Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli. "Our guys show up and they fight in every match. It was obviously evident in the match at Penn, with the guys coming over a lot of adversity to come away with that win.

"But even in the match at Princeton, within each match there is a lot of good stuff to build on for the guys. Within each bout [at Princeton] we showed some real good things against a strong Princeton lineup that includes three top five kids. By no means are we satisfied with falling to Princeton, but right now they are a better team, but we know that they are the goal and we are working hard to climb that ladder.

"We sent a message today that we are working our way up that ladder and I think Princeton and Penn learned that today in our performances."

HOW IT HAPPENED (AT PENN): The match at Penn opened up at 141 pounds, where Kazimir dropped his match to No. 23 Doug Zapf via a 5-2 decision. At 149 pounds, first-year Andrew Garr fell via a 7-3 decision to Lucas Revano, putting Columbia in a 6-0 hole after the first two matches.

But thanks to the two opening matches not resulting in bonus points for Penn, the Lions were in a solid position to work back into the match, and at 157 pounds Mosher got the Lions on the board with a 7-1 decision over Cam Connor. The bout at 165 pounds, between junior Riley Jacops and Jacob Lizak was a battle from start to finish, with a late takedown by Jacops happening just as time expired to give Lizak a 5-3 decision, pushing Penn's lead to 9-3.

The next two matches would fall the way for the Lions, and it would get Columbia back in the driver's seat, with Wolak battling to a 10-9 decision over Neil Antrassian thanks to a late takedown and back points pushing the Lion first-year in front as the clock ticked past zero. While at 184 pounds, Franzese got the Lions the bonus points they were looking for, working a technical fall victory, 19-4, over John Stout to push Columbia in front for the first time in the match, with the score at 11-9.

At 197 pounds, sophomore Sam Wustefeld battled hard, earning a 1-1 tie against Cole Urbas thanks to ridding time forcing sudden victory, unfortunately Urbas snagged an early takedown in the sudden victory round to take the match 3-1 to put Penn back in front. The match at 197 pounds began a process were the Lions and Quakers would trade leads over the next three matches, ending in Rini's victory at 133 pounds.

Conley took the mat at 285 pounds against Nate Hoaglund, and the Lion sophomore got the first of his two wins on the day with a 4-1 decision putting the Lions back in front, 14-12. Sophomore No. 27 Joe Manchio, next faced off with No. 6 Michael Colaiocco, and the Quakers would get their last win of the match, with Colaiocco winning via an 8-5 decision.

The loss at 125 pounds set up the showdown at 133, with Penn leading 15-14, Rini took to the mat knowing what had to be done, "he [Rini] is as poised as they come," said Tanelli. "He has been in big pressure situations before, and it shows when he faces those moments."

That poise was on full display from the word go, and despite falling behind early Rini remained on the attack and with time running out he trailed 3-2 to Carmen Ferrante knowing that a takedown would seal the win for Columbia. With one final push Rini worked a two-point takedown and with that big two points, Rini finished off the Lion win as the final score sat at 17-15.

COLUMBIA 17, PENN 15
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (The Palestra)

141 | No. 23 Doug Zapf (Penn) def. No. 27 Matt Kazimir (Columbia), dec. 5-2
149 | Lucas Revano (Penn) def. Andrew Garr (Columbia), dec. 7-3
157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) def. Cam Connor (Penn), dec. 7-1
165 | Jacob Lizak (Penn) def. Riley Jacops (Columbia), dec. 5-3
174 | Lennox Wolak (Columbia) def. Neil Antrassian (Penn), dec. 10-9
184 | Joe Franzese (Columbia) def. John Stout (Penn), TF 19-4
197 | Cole Urbas (Penn) def. Sam Wustefeld (Columbia), SV-1 3-1
285 | Danny Conley (Columbia) def. Nate Hoaglund (Penn), dec. 4-1
125 | No. 6 Michael Colaiocco (Penn) def. No. 27 Joe Manchio (Columbia), dec. 8-5
133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) dec. Carmen Ferrante (Penn), dec. 4-3

HOW IT HAPPENED (AT NO. 16 PRINCETON): Shortly after the exciting Penn win, Columbia hit the road to Princeton, New Jersey to face the No. 16 Princeton Tigers. During the match, which saw Columbia face three wrestlers ranked inside the top five nationally, the Lions put up a fight in each match, working three wins in the lineup and along with the wins the Lions battled hard, avoiding any losses via fall in the bout.

Columbia's first win in the match came from Kazimir, who scored a 6-4 decision victory against Marshall Keller at 141 pounds in the opening match of the action. At 285 pounds, Conley snagged his second win of the day with a solid 4-0 decision over Aidan Conner to lock up a second win in the match for Columbia. Building off his walk-off win at Penn, Rini took the mat in the final bout and the Lion first-year wrapped up the match, which ended 28-9 in Princeton's favor, with an 11-7 victory via decision over Sean Pierson.

NO. 16 PRINCETON 28, COLUMBIA 9
Princeton, New Jersey (Dillon Gymnasium)

141 | No. 27 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) def. Marshall Keller (Princeton), dec. 6-4
149 | Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) def. Andrew Garr (Columbia), TF 17-1
157 | No. 5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) def. Kyle Mosher (Columbia), maj. 15-5
165 | Grant Cuomo (Princeton) def. Riley Jacops (Columbia), dec. 5-3
174 | Kevin Parker (Princeton) def. Lennox Wolak (Columbia), maj. 17-6
184 | No. 28 Travis Stefanik (Princeton) def. Joe Franzese (Columbia), dec. 7-3
197 | No. 3 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) def. Sam Wustefeld (Columbia, maj. 14-4
285 | Danny Conley (Columbia) def. Aidan Conner (Princeton), dec. 4-0
125 | No. 3 Patrick Glory (Princeton) def. No. 29 Joe Manchio (Columbia), TF 19-1
133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) def. Sean Pierson (Princeton), dec. 11-7

UP NEXT: The Lions finally return to Morningside for an Ivy League doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 15 when Brown and Harvard make the trip to New York, New York. Following the league doubleheader, Columbia will head to Sacred Heart for an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association match on Sunday, Feb. 16 to wrap up another busy weekend for Columbia.

FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on Twitter (@ColumbiaWR), Instagram (@columbiawr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).