PRINCETON, N.J. – The University of Pennsylvania wrestling team was bested by No. 14 Princeton in its Ivy League finale, falling to a 33-6 defeat. An injury-ravaged lineup with four starters out battled in each match but could not overcome a strong Princeton side.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tigers stormed out to a big lead quickly behind victories in the first five matches, including a trio of bonus point victories for a 19-0 lead at the intermission. Princeton extended its lead coming right out of the intermission, as fourth-ranked Patrick Brucki dealt Cole Urbas a 20-3 tech fall at 197 pounds.
 
In the heavyweight match, Nate Hoaglund engaged in a fierce battle with the Tigers' Jack DelGarbino. Down 3-2 late in the third and looking likely to complete a single-leg takedown, DelGarbino fended him off and was hit with a stalling penalty to tie the match at 3-3 and send it to sudden victory. In the extra period, the Tiger wrestler quickly dove in for an ankle pick for a takedown and a 5-3 victory.
 
The heavyweight bout would be Princeton's final true victory of the day, with the hosts last points coming from a forfeit. With the dual rounding around to Penn's strength in the lighter weight classes, the Quakers got some points on the board.
 
No. 8 Michael Colaiocco wrestled a great, tactical match to earn his fourth consecutive Ivy League dual victory. Up 1-0 after a second-period escape, Colaiocco rode Sean Pierson for the final two minutes to lock up riding time and a 2-0 decision.
 
A forfeit at 133 extended the hosts lead to 33-3, but behind Penn's most dominant wrestler this season, 16th-ranked Doug Zapf, it would be the Quakers who delivered the final punch in the dual.
 
Despite an early takedown for the Tigers, Zapf responded with four takedowns to lock up a 10-6 decision. After the early two, the only points Zapf surrendered were escapes, many of which he purposely allowed in his quest for bonus points.
 
With the victory, Zapf completed an Ivy League dual sweep as he went 5-0 and tallied 16 team points in Ancient Eight duals. With three EIWA duals before the conference championships, The sophomore will look to lock up the top seed behind a 23-5 overall record and a 14-0 record against conference wrestlers this season.
 
The Quakers will round out the doubleheader hoping to regain University City bragging rights and grasp the coveted Cheesesteak Trophy with a dual at Drexel at 7 p.m. tonight.