NYU wrestling came out on top at a dual meet against Gettysburg College and Muhlenberg College, two Centennial Conference opponents, on Feb. 1.
Coach Bruce Haberli spoke to the team before the matches on Saturday, encouraging them not to take the two teams lightly.
“We very much need to leave here with two victories today,” he said, addressing the team.
The Violets first faced off against Muhlenberg who fielded only a three-man lineup. In those three bouts, the Violets came up victorious. However, Stern freshman Wayne Yuan lost, despite fighting valiantly against Division III National Ranking Honorable Mention opponent Jaryd Flank.
NYU won the 149 lb. and 157 lb. weight classes with impressive performances from CAS juniors DJ Albonico and captain Matt DiGiovanni. The Violets collected forfeits at the remaining seven weight classes to win the dual meet with a team score of 52-4.
The Violets then refocused to take on the host, Gettysburg College. Yuan rebounded by pinning his opponent in the second period of his match and helped give NYU a 6-0 lead in the duel. NYU collected a forfeit at the 133 lb. weight class and went on to win six of the next eight matches to clinch the dual meet with a team score of 36-9. NYU recorded two more pin falls at the 197 lb. and heavyweight classes after impressive performances from CAS senior captain Dan Brereton and LS sophomore John Klein.
After the two victories, NYU improved their overall season record to 6-8 and their Centennial Conference record to 3-3.
DiGiovanni said that these wins are crucial in keeping the team’s spirit high before moving into the individual portion of the season.
“This season, we have been struggling with a lot of injuries and it has hurt our dual record. Going into Gettysburg, we were missing three of our starters but still felt strong in our ability to win,” DiGiovanni said. “As a team, we wrestled strong and won in a dominant fashion only losing two bouts [all day]. I feel these were good wins for our team, helping us build confidence before an important upcoming weekend of duals versus Ursinus College and McDaniel College.”
Yuan said capturing another win helped him move past a rough patch.
“I didn’t wrestle so well my first match, but it felt good to pin in my second match and to get another win under my belt since I haven’t won in a while,” Yuan said.
The Violets are improving from top to bottom and looking strong moving towards the postseason.
The men return to the mat at home to take on Yeshiva University in a Centennial Conference match up this Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Sean Billings is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected]
