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Wrestling Gets First Win of Season Over Princeton

All year long, Robbie Preston has won.

For the first time this season, so did Harvard.

Against wrestling’s version of the Killer P’s, the Crimson (1-7, 1-1 Ivy) brought home its first victory of the season, taking care of Princeton on the road a day after falling to No. 15 Penn.

HARVARD 27, PRINCETON 16

Against the Tigers (4-6, 0-4 Ivy), it was business as usual for No. 16 Preston.

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The sophomore (125 lbs.) pinned Princeton’s Audrey Pang in 3:33 in the latest effort of a dual-meet campaign that has been nothing short of spotless.

“He doesn’t make many mistakes,” junior co-captain Mike Baria said. “Technically, he’s one of the best wrestlers I’ve ever wrestled with, and that’s a huge advantage for him.”

After starting off the year with strong tournament appearances at the East Stroudsburg and Cliff Keen Invitationals, Preston stands undefeated in dual meet competition.

Pang’s Tigers are just the latest name in a daunting list which includes fallen opponents from Eastern Michigan, Stanford, Cal. State Fullerton, Hofstra, Army, Lehigh, and Penn—the latter four boasting nationally ranked programs.

“I expected this [of Preston], because I know he’s that good,” Harvard coach Jay Weiss said. “I know he can go with anyone in the country. He’s having a good year, and he’s not satisfied. He’s looking for bigger things, and the sky’s the limit for him.”

In getting Harvard’s first win, however, Preston’s was naturally not the only notable performance.

Freshman Matt Button (157 lbs.) and senior heavyweight Jonas Corl turned in pins of their own.

Button pinned Tim Prugar in 3:42, while the veteran Corl vanquished Kris Berr in 1:57.

“It was exciting,” Weiss said. “If you look at the score, we pulled out some one-point, overtime decisions, some close matches, which is so important for us. It was good. The guys felt more pressure team-wise, which is always a good thing. They worked hard. They deserved it.”

Freshman Dominic DeNunzio (149 lbs.) and senior Eddie Jones (184 lbs.) also won, joining Preston in completing their undefeated weekends. Andrew Ianuzzi took DeNunzio into overtime before losing, 7-5, while Jones earned a 3-2 decision over Jack Fleming.

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