Wrestling earns shutout win against LIU in EIWA opener, but stumbles with tough road losses

Upper West Side NY

22 January, 2022

1:44 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY TAKASHI WILLIAMS • JANUARY 18, 2022, 9:46 PM On Jan. 9, Columbia wrestling hosted the Long Island University Sharks for an impressive 46-0 win, with athletes from across five different weight classes. However, after a road trip the following week, the Lions suffered two back-to-back losses against No. 17 Lehigh University and No. 4 Oklahoma State University. The Light Blue (1-3, 0-0 Ivy) recorded five wins by fall in their dual meet against LIU (0-7). Columbia dominated the Sharks, opening their Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association campaign. "The guys did what they're supposed to do," head coach Zach Tanelli said. "It's a solid team, but it's a team that we're better than." The first win of the day came from junior Danny Fongaro. He unleashed a flurry of takedowns to LIU's Drew Witham for an impressive score of 14-2. Junior Andrew Garr followed suit, dominating his competitor with a score of 8-2. The two wins marked the beginning of a stellar performance by the Light Blue. The first win by fall came from sophomore Joshua Ogunsanya. Ogunsanya started with a takedown that LIU's Blake Bahna escaped after some struggle. However, Ogunsanya immediately pounced back on Bahna with an elaborate pin of Bahna's right leg and neck, all before the three-minute mark. Following Ogunsanya's stellar performance, first-year Nick Fine continued the winning streak. Within two periods, he found himself wrapped around his opponent in a pretzel-like form after flipping away from a possible pin against him. He secured the Lions' second win via fall for the day. Senior Brian Bonino put an exclamation point on the Light Blue's performance. Not only did he give the Lions their third straight win via fall, he did so with a remarkably successful maneuver. In the second period, Bonino found himself hoisting the Shark's Gavin Claro in the air and slamming him down to the mat. He then wrestled Claro on the ground to secure the pin and win. "We just wanted to go out and dominate from start to finish," said Bonino. "Work on some things, coachability, and it felt really good today." Juniors Michael Baker and Angelo Rini both won their matches by fall, resulting in five pins in one dual match. This dual match marked the Lions' first shutout since 2018 and their most wins by fall since 2006. However, when the Lions traveled to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to face off against Lehigh, they were met with a different outcome. Although Columbia managed to salvage some impressive wins with the help of Manchio, Fongaro, Ogunsanya, Kazimir, and Fine, the winner was ultimately determined by the final match against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. First-year Jalen Stephens was set to face Lehigh's Jordan Wood at the 285-pound. Unfortunately for the Lions, Stephens was pinned merely three minutes into the match, giving Lehigh its seventh win of the season. The score was 20-16. The loss was followed by another bump in the road. Due to COVID-19 concerns within the West Virginia University program, the tri-meet was canceled. Fortunately, Columbia quickly pivoted and traveled to Oklahoma, and faced off against the Cowboys instead. Battling the fourth-best wrestling squad in the nation proved to be extremely arduous for the Light Blue. The Lions lost to the Cowboys with an overall team score of 35-6. The only two wins came from Ogunsanya, in a 3-2 decision and Kazimir, in a 6-1 decision. Coach Tanelli is aware of the challenges that lie ahead in the coming month of away dual meets play. "I think we just got to continue to get better," said Coach Tanelli. "We're gonna have tougher tests ahead and we got to be able to answer those calls." The Lions will have a chance to bounce back in a packed weekend of wrestling. The Light Blue will face Princeton on Saturday, Jan. 22 and Penn the following day. Both dual meets will tip off at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.