No. 4 Ithaca Falls to No. 8 Baldwin Wallace 21-16
SOURCE: athletics.ithaca.edu
January 06, 2019

 


LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The fourth-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team was back on the mat during the early session on Saturday morning when it faced eighth-ranked Baldwin Wallace in the consolation bracket of the 2019 NWCA National Duals. Unfortunately, the sour vibes from yesterday's afternoon session defeat to fifth-ranked Wabash carried over this morning. Ithaca could get little going in the dual, falling behind early and never able to overcome the early deficit in a 21-16 defeat. The loss evens IC's dual record at 4-4 on the year, while the team finishes the NWCA National Duals off the podium for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

#8 Baldwin Wallace 21 - #4 Ithaca 16
125 LB: Chad Craft (Baldwin Wallace) def. #5/5 Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) | DEC: 4-1
133 LB: Dante Ginnetti (Baldwin Wallace) def. Tito Colom (ITHACA) | DEC: 5-3
141 LB: #2/2 Ben Brisman (ITHACA) def. Tanner McHugh (Baldwin Wallace) | MD: 15-5
149 LB: #5/5 Stanley Bleich (Baldwin Wallace) def. Demetri D'Orsaneo (ITHACA) | DEC: 8-3
157 LB: Richard Burke (Baldwin Wallace) def. Jawan Jones (ITHACA) | DEC: 3-0
165 LB: Austin Whitney (ITHACA) def. #2/2 Anthony Arroyo (Baldwin Wallace) | FALL: 1:38
174 LB: Benjamin Hooff (Baldwin Wallace) def. Steven Rice (ITHACA) | DEC: 1-0
184 LB: Justin Ransom (Baldwin Wallace) def. #1/1 Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) | DEC: 4-3
197 LB: #9/7 Zeckary Lehman (Baldwin Wallace) def. Dalton Elias (ITHACA) | DEC: 8-4
285 LB: #5/8 Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. Parker Meaney (Baldwin Wallace) | FALL: 2:00

Just like yesterday's match against the Little Giants, Ithaca again got off to a bit of a slow start with a pair of narrow defeats at 125-pounds and 133-pounds. For the second straight bout, senior captain Ferdinand Mase (5th NWCA | 5th d3wrestle) struggled to get much offense going in a 4-1 decision against up-and-coming grappler Chad Craft. Another evenly-matched battle at 133-pounds also went in favor of the Yellow Jackets, as a takedown by Dante Ginnetti proved to be the difference in a 5-3 decision over IC junior Tito Colom. Baldwin Wallace took a big 6-0 lead that ultimately proved to be insurmountable.

The Bombers received a big response at 141-pounds, as junior Ben Brisman (2nd NWCA | 2nd d3wrestle) scored his third victory of the weekend with a 15-5 major decision over Tanner McHugh. The victory pulled IC within two points at 6-4, but the close margin did not last for long.

The middle weights again were a trouble spot for IC, although Ithaca grapplers put in valiant efforts against higher-ranked foes. Senior Demetri D'Orsaneo hung tough against Baldwin Wallace's nationally-ranked 149-pounder Stanley Bleich (5th NWCA | 5th d3wrestle), but was unable to get in on many shots offensively. He fell in an 8-3 decision. Fellow senior Jawan Jones also found offense to be difficult, as Yellow Jacket grappler Richard Burke scored the lone takedown in a 3-0 decision. The two victories widened the Baldwin Wallace advantage to 12-4 at the midway point of the match.

The highlight of the day for Ithaca came at 165-pounds. Redshirt junior Austin Whitney bounced-back in a big way from a defeat during the afternoon session yesterday, pulling off the result of the year against nationally-ranked 165-pounder Anthony Arroyo (2nd NWCA | 2nd d3wrestle). Whitney scored an early takedown to pull ahead in the opening 30-seconds; however, his second shot of the opening period took Arroyo to his back for the pin at 1:38. The huge result pulled IC right back into contention, again trailing by just two points at 12-10.

Sadly, three straight close bouts put things out of reach for Ithaca. A single escape was the difference at 174-pounds with junior Steven Rice coming up just short in a 1-0 decision against Benjamin Hooff. The shocker of the dual came at 184-pounds, as senior IC captain Jake Ashcraft (1st NWCA | 1st d3wrestle) suffered his first defeat of the season against Division III competition in a 4-3 decision against Justin Ransom. Junior Dalton Elias got the call for Ithaca at 197-pounds, but was unable to keep a match victory within reach, as nationally-ranked Zeckary Lehman (9th NWCA | 7th d3wrestle) defeated Elias in an 8-4 decision that clinched the match.

Senior captain Jake O'Brien (5th NWCA | 8th d3wrestle) salvaged the day for IC with the team's second fall of the day. He pinned Parker Meaney at 2:00 even of the first period.

Ithaca returns to action in two weeks when the team travels to Brockport for the 2019 Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) Championships. The Bombers will be looking to defend an active five-year streak of taking home the team title. The event will be held on Saturday, January 19, with start time set for 10:00 a.m.


Continue to athletics.ithaca.edu



Comments