The College's men's wrestling team followed up last weekend's tournament win at Ithaca with another strong performance this weekend. On Friday, the team cruised to an impressive win in a dual match against New York University 40-3 and finished third in total points with 113.0 at the Central Jersey Open on Sunday.
Friday night's dual match was the first on the season for the team. The Lions matched up against the NYU Violets. For the entire match, the Lions were in complete control.
After winning five of the first six bouts by decisions, the match broke open with a pin by Lions junior Pat Cross at the 184-pound match against the Violets' Lee Dugan. This marked the beginning of four straight pins by the Lions to end the match and cap the rout of the Violets.
Coach Dave Icenhower Jr. said Cross' pin created "a sense of momentum the others were able to take out with them." He was happy with the overall effort of his team and was looking forward to continuing a great weekend on Sunday.
Friday's match also saw the return of Lions' senior Pat Brady to the mats. After taking a year off, the All-American is wrestling at 149 pounds and was ranked No. 7 in a preseason poll.
He opened his season with a loss to Gene Kobilansky of the Violets, ending his unbeaten dual match streak at 60 bouts.
On Sunday, the College hosted the Central Jersey Open. Nineteen teams from around the area competed in the open. The Lions finished third with 113.0 points behind Delaware Valley and Nassau Community College. The tournament was split into two divisions: junior and senior.
Lion's senior Brian Dempsey won the senior title at 125 pounds. He is now 10-0 on the season. This was the Lion's only title at the Open. Also finishing high was junior Mike Guenther who was runner-up in the senior division at 165 pounds.
Freshman Mike Jacoutot Jr. and sophomores Steve Carbone and Lenny Goduto each took home third place in their respective weight classes of 133, 197 and 165 pounds. Also, sophomore Jim Tomczuk finished fourth at 197 pounds in the senior division.
The Lions hope to followup this weekend's strong performance with another at the Ursinus College Invitational this Saturday.
