The No. 3 ranked Ithaca College wrestling team swept the Rumble and Tumble meet against Cortland by a score of 46–0. This was the last match of the regular season for the Bombers as the team ended their season on an eight-match winning streak and a final record of 14–2.
The match started with a decision victory for the Bombers’ 125-lbs junior Ferdinand Mase over Cortland senior Josh Antoine. Following Mase was sophomore 133-lbs Tito Colom, who defeated senior Mat Bradice.
Colom said that this win is huge for him heading into the final stretch of the season.
“It was a big confidence booster,” Colom said. “I feel really confident that I can do big things this year.”
Sophomore 141-lbs Ben Brisman kicked it up for the Blue and Gold with a major decision over freshman Matt Maquet. The 149-lbs junior Demetri D’Orsaneo followed Brisman with a victory by decision over junior Matt Norris. Junior Austin Whitney then defeated senior Greg Chery in the 157-lbs weight class.
South Hill squad 165-lbs senior Nick Velez earned the first pin of the day for the college over freshman Charlie Buckley. Senior Jaison White followed with a decision win in the 174-lbs weight class against senior Adrian Berry. Junior 184-lbs Jake Ashcraft then had a come from behind victory against senior Deuly Espinal.
Marty Nichols, head coach for the wrestling team, said that the team did well, and that even when they were behind in a match, they found a way to fight back.
“We had a lot of really good comebacks,” Nichols said. “It was a great effort by everybody.”
In the last two matches of the day, 197-lbs sophomore Dalton Elias took a win by forfeit and the heavyweight junior Jake O’Brien pinned freshman Zach Herbert.
Nichols was impressed by the team’s performance and has a positive outlook for the team as they head into the regional meet and NCAA meet.
“All we can do is just keep getting better and it was a great match and a great way to end the year,” Nichols said. “I think we’re just starting to peak so I think we are going to be ready to go when it comes to the regionals.”
The next match for the Blue and Gold will be the NCAA regional match at 11 a.m. on Feb. 24 and 10 a.m. on Feb. 25 in the Athletics and Events Center.
