Jan. 6, 2008
Princeton, NJ - The Cardinal wrestling team added two more wins to its season tally this afternoon, as the Cardinal topped East Stroudsburg 29-16, before demolishing Princeton, 32-10. Senior Tanner Gardner highlighted the day with two pins, and Stanford improved to 5-1 on the year.
Gardner started the Cardinal off at 125 pounds in the first dual, pinning his second opponent of the weekend. With just one second remaining in the second period (4:59), Gardner put East Stroudsburg sophomore Matthew Benedetti on his back and gave Stanford an early 6-0 lead.
The Warriors matched the effort at 133 pounds, however, as junior Matthew Swallow pinned Cardinal freshman Blair Matsuura in 4:58. The Warriors' Sean Carr then won a close decision over Stanford's Max Rosefigura at 141 pounds, scoring a late takedown to earn the 6-4 win and give East Stroudsburg the lead, 9-6.
The Warriors' lead would be their last, however, as the Cardinal rallied to win four consecutive matches in the middle weights to go ahead for good. At 149 pounds, redshirt freshman Lucas Espericueta battled back from an initial deficit and dominated East Stroudsburg's Jesse Dunn for a 20-10 major decision. Josh Zupancic continued the onslaught, pinning the Warriors' Kyle Heselpoth in 4:34.
Sophomore Peter Miller followed with a 9-0 major decision over East Stroudsburg's Joe Schick at 165 pounds to push the Stanford lead out to 20-9. Redshirt freshman Alex Muller tacked three more points onto the Cardinal total, winning his first career bout at 174 pounds. Muller scored two takedowns in the third period to come from behind and top East Stroudsburg junior Tom Pagano, 9-7.
At 184 pounds, the Warriors' Shane Mallory finally halted the Cardinal momentum. Mallory and Luke Feist battled into overtime, but Mallory scored a reversal in the second overtime period and held on for a 9-8 decision. East Stroudsburg forfeited at 197 pounds, however, sealing the victory for Stanford.
Chris Birchler won by major decision for East Stroudsburg at heavyweight to finish the dual, topping Mark Shughart, 23-9.
The Cardinal then turned to the host Princeton Tigers, and Gardner once again set the pace quickly for Stanford. The senior 125-pounder earned his third consecutive pin and second of the day, sticking freshman Tony Comunale in the third period (6:07).
At 133 pounds, Matsuura earned his first career dual victory to increase the Stanford lead to 9-0. The true freshman scored three points in the third period to win a 7-4 decision over the Tigers' Nikhil Pereira.
Princeton forfeited the 141-pound match, and both teams bowed out of the 149-pound bout, pushing the Cardinal lead to 15-0.
Espericueta wrestled up in the 157-pound bout and came out with his second career pin. The Cardinal redshirt freshman put Princeton junior Aaron Casp on his back in 4:46, and picked up his 16th win of the year.
Miller pushed Stanford closer to the win at 165 pounds, earning his second victory of the day with a 9-6 decision over Alex Enriquez. Miller's three points pushed the Stanford advantage to 24-0 heading into the 174-pound bout.
The Tigers earned their first points of the afternoon at 174 pounds, as Mike Alvarez pinned Stanford's Muller as time expired in the second period (5:00).
Feist wrestled his second consecutive match at 184 pounds, and edged Princeton's Travis Erdman, 7-6, to seal the Cardinal win. Sophomore Jake Johnson pushed Stanford further ahead with his second technical fall of the year, beating Zach Morse, 19-2.
The Tigers finished the day with a win at heavyweight, as senior Sam Ritter bested Stanford's Phillip Doerner, 15-7.
The Cardinal will wrestle its third dual of the day later tonight, taking on the Wagner Seahawks at the New York Athletic Club at 7:30 p.m.
Stanford 29, East Stroudsburg 16
125 - No. 6 Tanner Gardner (S) pinned Matthew Benedetti (ES), 4:59
133 - Matthew Swallow (ES) pinned Blair Matsuura (S), 4:58
141 - Sean Carr (ES) dec. Max Rosefigura (S), 6-4
149 - Lucas Espericueta (S) maj. dec. Jesse Dunn (ES), 20-10
157 - No. 16 Josh Zupancic (S) pinned Kyle Heselpoth (ES), 4:34
165 - Peter Miller (S) maj. dec. Joe Schick (ES), 9-0
174 - Alex Muller (S) dec. Tom Pagano (ES), 9-7
184 - Shane Mallory (ES) dec. Luke Feist (S), 9-8 (OT)
197 - Jake Johnson (S) win by default
HWT - Chris Birchler (ES) maj. dec. Mark Shughart (S), 23-9
Stanford 32, Princeton 10
125 - No. 6 Tanner Gardner (S) pinned Tony Comunale (P), 6:07
133 - Blair Matsuura (S) dec. Nikhil Pereira (P), 7-4
141 - Max Rosefigura (S) win by default
149 - No match
157 - Lucas Espericueta (S) pinned Aaron Casp (P), 4:46
165 - Peter Miller (S) dec. Alex Enriquez (P) 9-6
174 - Mike Alvarez (P) pinned Alex Muller (S), 5:00
184 - Luke Feist (S) dec. Travis Erdman (P), 7-6
197 - Jake Johnson (S) tech. fall Zach Morse (P), 19-2
HWT - Sam Ritter (P) maj. dec. Phillip Doerner (S), 15-7