Feb. 8, 2014
BOSTON - The Boston University wrestling team fell victim to a stunning rally by Princeton on Saturday evening at Case Gym as the Terriers held a 20-3 lead before the Tigers stormed back to capture a 23-20 victory.
BU won five of the first six matches and appeared to be in control before the visitors crept back into the match with back-to-back major decisions to make it 20-11 in the Terriers' favor.
The Tigers got a pin late in the third period from Brett Harner at 197 and Abe Ayala followed suit with a late pin of his own at heavyweight to complete the wild finish.
Sophomore Dane Harlowe earned a fall at 133 for the Terriers, who got major decisions from seniors Bubba McGinley (125) and Nestor Taffur (157). Juniors Tyler Scotton (141) and Mitchell Wightman(165) also picked up victories.
BU falls to 3-9 overall and 1-8 against EIWA opponents. This marked the second time in as many matches that the Terriers lost despite winning half the bouts.
The match started at the top at 125 and BU quickly jumped out to a 13-0 lead. McGinley dominated in a 12-0 major decision versus Ryan Cash and Harlowe followed with his pin just 1:59 into the 133 match. Scotton's 9-5 decision against Jordan Laster capped the early spurt.
Princeton got on the board with Adam Krop's 10-7 win over senior Nick Tourville at 149. BU, however, responded with back-to-back wins to build what looked to be an insurmountable lead.
Taffur earned his EIWA-leading 29th win of the year with a 12-2 major decision against Kevin Moylan and Wightman edged Judd Ziegler, 3-1, at 165 in the only match-up of the night that featured two grapplers in the NCAA Coaches' Panel rankings.
Down 20-3, Princeton started its miraculous comeback at 174 with Ryan Callahan's 11-2 major decision against BU sophomore Colin Saunders. In a match-up of two freshmen, Princeton's Troy Murtha matched Callahan by posting an 11-1 major decision against Aaron Conrad to make it a 20-11 affair.
The Tigers' normal 184-pounder, Brett Harner, was pushed up a class to 197 and kept the late run going with a pin at 6:28 of his match with senior Alex Najjar.
With BU holding a 20-17 lead with one match remaining, the Tigers once again bumped a wrestler up a class. Senior Kevin Innis got an early takedown against Abe Ayala but fell behind in the final moments of the second period. In the third, Ayala turned Innis to get back points and build a lead before sticking him to the mat at 6:12 to stun the Terriers.
BU will return to action on Saturday (Feb. 15) when it visits Brown for a dual at 2 p.m.
Princeton 23, Boston University 20
125: Bubba McGinley (BU) major dec. Ryan Cash (P), 12-0
133: Dane Harlowe (BU) pinned Jake Intrator (P), 1:59
141: Tyler Scotton (BU) dec. Jordan Laster (P), 9-5
149: Adam Krop (P) dec. Nick Tourville (BU), 10-7
157: Nestor Taffur (BU) major dec. Kevin Moylan (P), 12-2
165: Mitchell Wightman (BU) dec. Judd Ziegler (P), 3-1
174: Ryan Callahan (P) major dec. Colin Saunders (BU), 11-2
184: Troy Murtha (P) major dec. Aaron Conrad (BU), 11-1
197: Brett Harner (P) pinned Alex Najjar (BU), 6:28
285: Abe Ayala (P) pinned Kevin Innis (BU), 6:12
