Wrestling: Tigers seek 1st win against GMU, Rutgers

The wrestling team will be greatly challenged this weekend as it looks to earn its first win of the season.

The Tigers will head over to Piscataway, N.J., where they will take the mat against cross-state rivals Rutgers and George Mason University on Saturday.

Princeton (0-2) is coming off of two tough losses to Liberty and Binghamton during their opening weekend.

Head coach Chris Ayres said the key to the games this weekend was “getting these guys individually ready for their matches and making sure that they can perform up to their ability.”

Ayres continued to say that the team was “a little bit inconsistent last weekend … We’re looking to get some consistency.”

During the opening weekend, No. 11 sophomore Garrett Frey was able to win both of his matches at 125 pounds during the season openers.

Sophomore Zach Bintliff pulled off an impressive win at the 141-pound spot. He defeated Binghamton’s Anwar Goeres, who was formerly ranked 19th in the country. According to Ayres, Bintliff should be going into the weekend “with a whole lot of confidence.”

The Tigers will play George Mason (0-2) first. Ayres said he thinks Princeton should fare well in the matchup. He explained that his main concern was the wrestlers at the 184-pound and 197-pound spots.

“Those are [George Mason’s] best guys usually, and for us we’ve just got to win where we’re supposed to win.”

No. 7 Junior Cayle Byers starts at the 197-pound spot for George Mason. Byer currently has a perfect 10-0 record for the season. Sophomore Charles Fox will start against Byers. Fox was unable to pick up a win during the season opening weekend.

George Mason junior Mendbagana Tovuujav usually starts at 184-pound spot. He is currently 1-4 for the year but finished the 2009-10 season with an overall record of 30-10. Senior co-captain Travis Erdman is the probable starter against Tovuujav. Erdman is currently 1-1 through his first two matches of the season.

Rutgers (7-1) will be an extremely tough match for the Tigers. The Scarlet Knights are currently No. 18 in the nation.

“They don’t really have any holes, so we’ll really have to be ready since there will not be any easy matchups” said Ayres.

Frey will likely face Rutgers Matt Fusco who recently placed second at the Nittany Lion Open. Fusco was redshirted during the previous season, and won two out of four matches in his most recent start at 125 pounds.

Rutgers Trevor Melde will square off against Bintliff. Melde earned fourth place at the Nittany Lion Open and posted a 25-12 record during the 2009-10 season.

Freshman Brandon Rolnick will start at the 157-pound spot, Princeton’s only win during last year’s 34-3 loss to the Scarlet Knights. Rolnick will be challenged by No. 5 Rutgers Mario Mason.

When it all comes down to it, Ayres said the weekend and the match ahead “all depends on how each person performs.”