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Ivy Wrestling Wrap-Up - 12/16
Created: 12/16/2004 4:34:44 PM
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From Columbia Sports Information
In a match fraught with drama that had a capacity crowd in University Gym roaring, Columbia rallied from a 10-0 deficit to take a 22-10 lead over nationally-ranked Rider, and then held on for a 22-20 victory on Saturday.
The win over the Broncs, ranked 25th in the nation, was believed to be the first by Columbia over a nationally-ranked team in almost 25 years.
"I'm thrilled," head coach Brendan Buckley said. "I knew it was going to be a barnburner, but it was more electric than I had anticipated."
Four Lions supplied most of the electricity. After Columbia had lost the first three bouts to fall behind, 10-0, sophomore Ricky Turk (Crestline, Calif.) put his team on the scoreboard with a first-period pin of Michael Palma at 149. Junior Devin Mesanko (Toms River, N.J.), wrestling at 157 pounds, and sophomore Matt Palmer (Germantown, Md.), at 165, then followed with back-to-back technical falls (winning by 15 points or more), each one giving Columbia five team points. The Lions led, 16-10.
As Sven Hafemeister stepped toward the mat for his 174-pound bout with Chris Marold, Palmer called him over. "We need bonus points," he told Hafemeister, "we need a pin."
The junior from Leipzig, Germany, obliged. Striking almost from the opening whistle, he took Marold down, put him quickly to his back, and then applied several pinning moves, before finally, with 1:59 gone in the bout, Hafemeister pressed him to the mat for the pin. From 10-0 down, Columbia had taken a 22-10 lead.
After Rider clawed back to 22-17. Columbia's senior heavyweight Bart Seemen (Suffern, N.Y.), who had only wrestled once because of injury, would be needed in the final bout.
A pin would give Rider the win. A technical fall would tie the match. If the Rider man could post no better than a major decision (8-14 point margin), Columbia would win.
"Bart knew what was riding on his match," Coach Buckley said. "I didn't have to say anything to him. He's smart and he knows the score."
Seemen could have held back to avoid attempted throws, but he became the aggressor, frequently going after the Bronc, who was able to score points, but too few and too far between. Unable to post a pin or technical fall, he could not even get a major decision, as his 4-1 win drew Rider to only 22-20 as the final buzzer sounded.
"You can never count us out," a beaming Buckley noted. "Our guys came through. Even the guys who didn't make the starting lineup were up on their feet the whole time, going nuts behind the bench."
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Related Schools: Columbia
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Related Sports: Wrestling
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*This Article has been archived.*
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