Individuals Highlight Weekend Matches

Unlike junior co-captains No. 10 Louis Caputo and No. 4 J.P. O’Connor, the Harvard wrestling team did not go undefeated this past weekend. Harvard (5-12, 2-3 Ivy) hosted Columbia, No. 22 Hofstra, and No. 2 Cornell at the Malkin Athletic Center Friday and Saturday for senior weekend. The Crimson tackled Columbia (3-14, 1-4 Ivy League) first, overcoming the Lions, 25-18. Up next, the No. 22 Pride (10-6) proved to be more of a challenge, defeating Harvard, 31-11. Last on the line-up was wrestling powerhouse No. 2 Big Red, who topped the Crimson, 34-9.

Despite his team’s solid effort in the Friday split, Harvard coach Jay Weiss expressed disappointment with the lopsided defeat against Cornell.

“Our job is to go out on the mat and fight,” Weiss said. “But we didn’t wrestle hard [against the Big Red].”

Harvard showed little energy as it limped through the end of the dual meet season, and must regroup and overcome lingering injuries in time for the ECAC championships in two weeks.

NO. 2 CORNELL 34, HARVARD 9

Cornell lived up to its reputation on Saturday with a victory in eight out of 10 matches against the Crimson. O’Connor and Caputo were the only two grapplers for Harvard to notch a win against the Big Red. Both emerged from the weekend unscathed.

Caputo capped an undefeated effort with a forfeit by Cornell, while O’Connor overpowered Derek Schreiner by decision 6-1. O’Connor cruised through his matches, despite battling illness.

“J.P. has been sick all week,” Weiss said. “He hasn’t been to practice and he gutted it out.”

Sophomore Corey Jantzen, too, is not 100 percent, and even though he wrestled Friday, his hurt ankle kept him sidelined against Cornell.

“It is that same lingering high ankle sprain,” O’Connor said. “But, he will be ready to go soon. All Corey needs is to have a good tournament and he’s going to win a national title.”

Another standout, rookie Walter Peppelman, came up short in a hard fought match against DJ Meagher. Even though the Crimson wrestler clearly had the advantage in both the second and third periods, he suffered a 3-1 loss due to an early takedown by his opponent.

“Those are the toughest matches to lose,” O’Connor said. “When you kind of come on at the end of the match and you find out in the last minute that you are better than the guy and [still] end up losing.”

Ultimately, the Big Red reigned over the Crimson, dominating the match with a 25-point margin of victory.

NO. 22 HOFSTRA 31, HARVARD 11

The Crimson struggled early on against the Pride, forfeiting at 125 and falling at both 133 and 141. However, Peppelman rebounded to continue his streak, overwhelming his opponent 17-0, and earning yet another technical fall.

“For me it’s always fun to go out and wrestle after him,” O’Connor said. “He definitely pumps up the crowd and I think he deserves a lot of respect...He goes out there and kills guys 17-nothing, 18-nothing.”

O’Connor and Caputo also did not disappoint, capitalizing on Peppleman’s momentum to defeat their opponents by decision. Unfortunately for Harvard, its momentum was short-lived and the squad ultimately fell to Hofstra.

HARVARD 25, COLUMBIA 18

Harvard came out strong early in its first match of the weekend against Columbia. After awarding the Lions the first points of the match due to a forfeit at 125, senior Tommy Picarsic (133) paced the team with a 9-2 decision, setting the tone for the rest of the match.

Following Picarsic’s example, Jantzen (141), Peppelman (149), and O’Connor (157) all triumphed over their opponents in succession. With the reemergence of Jantzen from an ankle injury as well as Peppleman’s continued win streak and team-leading eighth technical fall, the weekend looked promising for the Crimson.

After a tough loss at 165 to freshman Bryan Panzano, sophomore Andy Olsen (174) and Caputo (184) regained momentum and clinched the victory with a fall and technical fall, respectively.

Senior Patrick Ziemnik also stood out this weekend at 197, wrestling up two weight classes. Due to the absence of both heavyweights for medical reasons, Ziemnik stepped up to help the team.

“To me [Ziemnik’s effort] really stands out,” Weiss said.

Ziemnik held his own, only falling by decision, 11-4.