Wrestling team falls to Stevens Institute
Heavyweight Paul Triandafilou has been an integral part of the Gettysburg wrestling team thus far this season (Photo courtesy of Gettysburg College Athletics)
By Brody Tennant, Contributing Writer
The Gettysburg College wrestling team came close but could not complete the comeback against the Stevens Institute of Technology in a 25-21 loss this past Saturday. Stevens Institute is ranked 21st in the nation by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
The Ducks came out to a hot start, winning four of the first five bouts and taking a quick 19-6 lead. The first points for the Bullets came from first-year Sean Thompson claiming a forfeit win in the 141-pound weight class.
The next two matches came as victories for the Bullets, with a technical fall at 165 by junior Colin Kowalski and a decision at 174 by sophomore Austin Roskos, bringing the score to 19-14 in favor of Stevens.
Kowalski collected a takedown, four near-falls, and an escape en route to his third tech fall in just his last four matches. Roskos came back from a 3-0 deficit with a reversal, escape, takedown, and a riding time point.
However, a forfeit at 184 would prove to be too much for the Bullets, even with the last two matches also coming as Gettysburg victories.
First-year Mike Iodice earned a decision victory at 197 and junior heavyweight Paul Triandafilou, who came into the match ranked 10th in the nation by the NWCA, earned a major decision victory and improved his personal season record to 22-4.
Iodice was able to lock up his 4-2 win in the third period of his match. Going into the final period tied 2-2, he was able to score an escape and secure his riding point.
Triandafilou was not able to score any points in the first period, but lit up the scoreboard in the second. He scored an escape, takedown, and a near-fall on the way to his 8-0 victory.
“Winning is important, but it is also important not to get too high after a win or low after a loss,” said head coach Andrew Vogel. Coming this close in a match against a ranked opponent can sometimes bring a team down, but the Bullets are looking to come back strong.
“We want to win as many matches as possible while getting better each week, and the guys are committed to that idea,” Vogel commented. The Bullets are looking ahead and forward to their upcoming matches.
“I think the team feels pretty great at this point, we’re having a decent record. We lost a couple tough ones last week, but we’re hoping to come back strong this weekend,” said first-year Sean Thompson. He, along with the rest of the team, are excited at their continued opportunities to compete and be successful.
Later in the week, on senior night, the team defeated McDaniel 30-7 to improve their record to 6-4 (1-1 in Centennial Conference).
The Centennial Conference Championships are coming up in February, and the team hopes to put on a good showing. However, before they reach the most important time in the season, the team will look to bounce back from a few recent losses and finish the regular season strong.
This Saturday, the men’s wrestling team will be traveling to Lexington, Virginia, take on both Washington and Lee and Johns Hopkins.
