RED ALERT: Princeton University wrestler Quincy Monday makes a move on Cornell’s Hunter Richard last Saturday at 157 pounds. Junior Monday posted an 8-4 win over Richard buy the Tigers fell 21-12 to the Big Red. A day later, Princeton topped Rider 33-7 as Monday posted a 7-2 decision over former Princeton High standout Alec Bobchin. The Tigers, now 5-3 overall and 3-1 Ivy League, have a dual at Lehigh on February 11 and then host Penn a day later. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

In February 2020, the Princeton University wrestling team produced a historic breakthrough, edging Cornell 19-13 to end a 32-match losing streak to the Big Red and clinch the program’s first Ivy League title since 1986.

With the 2020-21 season being canceled due to COVID-19  concerns, the rivals met last Saturday for the first time in nearly two years and Princeton head coach Chris Ayres was expecting some fireworks.

“I thought that it was going to be a great dual, there were a lot of toss-ups,” said Ayres.

“There were a couple of matches that both teams could feel pretty confident about and we knew that it would be a battle of toss-ups and we thought 174 to heavyweight was going to be the area where we could either win it or lose it.”

Ayres proved prescient as Princeton lost at 174 pounds, 184, 197, and heavyweight in falling 21-12 to the Big Red. The Tigers got wins in the dual from Jake Marsh at 165, No. 1 Patrick Glory at 125, Danny Coles at 14, and No. 8 Quincy Monday at 157.

“If you would have told me at the beginning of the dual that Jake Marsh is going to win and so is Glory, that was a huge toss-up, I would have said we are going to win this dual for sure,” said Ayres.

“That is what is great about dual meets you can put anything you want on paper and that stuff can go all over the map.”

Junior standouts Glory and Monday have been giving Princeton some great stuff this season.

“Glory is special, he is one of those guys we refer to as a freak,” said Ayres. “He is just amazing on top, his gas tank is incredible, and he can score a million points. The thing that he has right now is that he just keeps getting better. Monday is great too. Those are the two guys right now for us that you say they could win national titles. Will they do it? You have to figure that out at the tournament.”

Ayres is confident that his squad will figure out some things from the loss to Cornell.

“I think we were too cautious on both sides a little bit, particularly at 184 and 197,” said Ayres. “They were slow matches, trying to win with one takedown. It is not good for wrestling and we are not giving ourselves a chance to win. I told the team go out and give up a takedown trying something. Who cares, that creates pressure sometimes. We were way too tight. We were way too much looking to win a chess match here like I am going to win by a point. You scrap hard and if at the end of the match, you have to win by one point, you try to win by a point. But you are putting in effort to get scores and that wasn’t there.”

A day later, the Tigers produced a great effort, topping Rider 33-7 in the Battle of 206. The Tigers won eight of 10 bouts, including the last seven of the day with five of those victories coming with bonus points.

“They bounced back, some of those weights needed to open up and they did,” said Ayres.

“They listened, they were coachable. We also had two guys who are not usual starters too which was good because we are managing the team. I was happy with Rider. I can’t even point to losses where we weren’t out there fighting. We are just trying to get points on the board. It was good.”

Against the Broncs, Princeton got wins from Glory at 125, Marshall Keller at 149, Monday at 157, Blaine Bergey at 165, Nate Dugan at 174, No. 22 Travis Stefanik at 184, No. 17 Luke Stout at 197, and Matt Cover at 285.

With Princeton now 5-3 overall and 3-1 Ivy League, Ayres believes his team is going in the right direction as it heads into the homestretch of the season.

“We are finally kind of settled in. A third of our team was not in school the first semester, so we didn’t get everyone back until second semester,” said Ayres.

“It was a little choppy through the first semester. When the team got back together it was still choppy; the three coaches were out with COVID. But when we got back with Arizona State, that was a great match (a 20-18 win on January 16) and now we have a pretty good rhythm of the season. Even though we lost to Cornell, I think we are improving. Some of the things they exposed were important to address before the end of the year. We are really good about our training plan and getting better each week.”

The Tigers have big week coming up as they have a dual at Lehigh on February 11 and then host Penn a day later.

“With Lehigh, we haven’t beaten them too much so winning the last two years we went against them was pretty good,” said Ayres.

“We are going into their house, they are good. They beat Cornell but then they lost to Penn. With Penn, they lost by almost an identical score to Cornell that we lost by so that is pretty interesting as well. They look good, they have been wrestling tough.”