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The tournament team race went down to the gold medal finals at 197 pounds. The team that won that match would emerge as the team champion of the EIWA Championships for 2005. The fans were on the edge of their seats in Alumni Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
Lehigh led the team race by just 1/2 point going into that match, with 131.5 points, followed by Cornell with 131 points. The 197-pound battle was between No. 1 seed Jon Trenge of Lehigh, a two-time NCAA runner-up and No. 2 seed Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell.
Trenge scored a takedown in the first period but allowed an escape for a 2-1 lead after one period. Trenge then rode Rinaldi out for the entire second period, and scored an escape and knotched riding time for a 4-1 victory. His win gave Lehigh two team points, and the final margin of victory, 133.5 points for Lehigh and 131 points for Cornell.
Cornell had six finalists and Lehigh had five finalists. Coming into the gold-medal matches, Lehigh had a 3.5 point lead over Cornell.
Claiming titles for Lehigh were Trenge, plus Cory Cooperman at 141 pounds and Troy Letters at 165 pounds.
“It was a wild ride,” said Strobel. “I was nervous coming into the tournament. We were underdogs and Cornell has such power. These two guys won for us, Rizzi at 125 pounds and LaMay at 184 pounds. They both placed and scored tons of points. Trenge, Letters and Cooperman are supposed to win for us. Those guys, plus bonus points, won it for us.”
“It was so close. You almost have to throw your hands up and wonder if it was ever going to end. These guys are used to winning and winning is contagious,” said Strobel.
Cooperman beat Nate Gulosh of Navy with a dominant major decision, 14-1. He jumped to a 7-1 lead early, then kept on the pressure the entire match. Cooperman won his second career EIWA title.
Letters, the defending NCAA champion, won his third career EIWA title with a solid 7-2 win over Matt Palmer of Columbia.
Claiming gold medals for Cornell were Travis Lee at 133 pounds, Joe Mazzurco at 174 pounds and Tyler Baier at 184 pounds.
Lee was named Outstanding Wrestler in the Tournament, and received a special award for scoring the most points in a career in the history of the EIWA Championships. Lee defeated Matt Ciasulli of Lehigh by a major decision,13-4 in the finals. The first period was scoreless, but Lee opened it up in the final half of the match, scoring a number of slick takedowns. Lee is a former NCAA champion.
Mazzurco, seeded third, dominated top seed Andy Roy of Rutgers in an 11-3 major decision. Mazzurco scored a takedown with six seconds left to get the major decision, adding a team point to Cornell’s total.
Baier scored the early takedown and went on to beat Josh Glenn of American, 4-1 in the finals.
A key loss for Cornell came at 149 pounds, where No. 2 Phillip Simpson of Army edged Dustin Manotti of Cornell, 8-7. Simpson jumped to a 6-1 lead, but Manotti scored two takedowns in the final period to close the gap but fell short. Manotti came into the tournament ranked No. 1 in the nation, while Simpson had a No. 3 national ranking.
“It was tight. It was a great tournament,” said Cornell coach Rob Koll. “I was pleased with how we wrestled. I wish we had won one more match. We were right there. If Manotti wins, we lose by 1/2 point. We lost at heavyweight with just ten seconds left, and if we win that, we win. There are so many situations that could have changed the outcome. I am frustrated that we were not able to win. But we have nine guys at the nationals, and Lehigh has seven, so maybe we can take them there.”
Three of the four EIWA wrestlers who held No. 1 national rankings were able to claim titles: Lee, Letters and Trenge.
The top three placewinners in each division earned a spot at the NCAA Div. I Championships in St. Louis, Mo., In addition, EIWA coaches selected 12 additional athletes to compete at the nationals, as the conference will bring 42 athletes to St. Louis.
Harvard had an individual champion, with No. 1 seeded freshman Robbie Preston, defeating Mike Mormile of Cornell, 7-5 at 125 pounds.
American Univ. claimed its first EIWA champion in history, with a victory by Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, American over Derek Zinck, Lehigh, 14-13. It was a let-him-up, take-him-down match which went to the final seconds before the Uzbekistan native was able to emerge as the winner. This is the third year that American competed at the EIWA, as the program has been revived under coach Mark Cody.
Winning a third EIWA title at heavyweight was Penn’s Matt Feast, who edged local hero Tanner Garrett of Navy in overtime, 2-1. Feast got an escape, but rode Garrett out in the tiebreaker for the win.
The host U.S. Naval Academy placed third in the team standings with 96.5 points, its best finish in many years.
“Our reward was getting six guys to the nationals, having eight wrestlers place, and our overall team effort,” said coach Bruce Burnett. “We had no champions, but a lot of heart. We have made progress, slow but steady. They are getting to where they believe.”
Taking fourth with a tremendous performance was Columbia, with 84 points. Columbia coach Brendan Buckley was named EIWA Coach of the Year after his team’s performance.
“I’m ecstatic for the team,” said Buckley. “It is a testament to the entire team. This is the epitome of NCAA wrestling, to wrestle your best when it counts the most. This is a great stepping stone for the team. It shows how hard this team worked all year.”
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