NEW YORK – Aaron Ayzerov, No. 26 Nick Babin, and No. 24 Matt Kazimir each pinned their opponent as the Lions captured six bout wins to earn an impressive 27-13 win over Princeton on Friday night in Levien Gym.
 
Columbia won its first Ivy League opener since 2016 as the Lions start the year 1-0 in Ivy League duals. The Lions improve to 2-0 in EIWA action and 2-4 overall in dual matches.
 
"It is big to open the Ivy (League) schedule with the win, but this is a team (Princeton) that has emerged over the past decade or so," Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli said. "They have great coaching and they have great athletes. So more than just opening up the Ivy League schedule, we opened up with a really quality win."
 
As one of the most anticipated matchups of the night, No. 17 Joshua Ogunsanya faced No. 3 Quincy Monday in the 165 bout to start the action. Monday hung on to take a 4-1 decision win in the bout and give Princeton the early 3-0 lead.
 
The Lions would answer by taking the next two bout to jump out to a 9-3 advantage. Lennox Wolak battled through a close matchup against Kole Mulhauser at 174 to earn a 3-1 decision win. Aaron Ayzerov then fought back to pin No. 32 Nate Dugan in the 184 bout. Ayzerov posted his fastest fall of the season (4:44) as he also secured his second dual match win of the season.
 
Jack Wehmeyer dropped a major decision to Princeton's No. 17 Luke Stout in the 197 bout. Billy McChesney then lost a 3-1 decision to No. 33 Travis Stefanik at 285 as the Tigers reclaimed the 10-9 lead.
 
Building off a pair of impressive wins last weekend, No. 26 Babin continued to show off his skills as he pinned Princeton's Nick Kayal just under two minutes into the 125 bout. Babin is now 4-2 in duals this season. The win put the Lions on top for good.
 
"(Babin) is wrestling at a high level right now," Tanelli said. "I am proud of him. He did a great job and he has to continue to get better. He is making a name for himself and he is putting himself in a position to be at the national tournament, which is one of his goals for this year."
 
No. 26 Angelo Rini dropped a close 7-3 decision to Patrick Glory in the 133 bout. The Lions then won the last three matchups to wrap up the win.
 
No. 24 Kazimir earned a commanding win as he pinned Danny Coles in the 141 bout. Kazimir improves to 4-1 in dual matches this season. Danny Fongaro and Cesar Alvan capped off the night with decision wins. Fongaro took a 5-3 decision over Marshall Keller. Alvan followed with a 3-1 decision against Ty Whalen.
 
"When we went out to Iowa for a tournament, that was really big for us," Babin said. "These past two weeks we have been wrestling really tough. We are just excited to keep it going. These Ivy League matches are a lot of fun and exciting, so we are just trying to keep it going and get better."
 
RESULTS
 
COLUMBIA 27, PRINCETON 13
New York, N. Y. (Levien Gym)
 
Individual Match Results:
165 – No. 3 Quincy Monday (PRIN) def. 17 Joshua Ogunsanya (COL) | Dec., 4-1
174 – No. 26 Lennox Wolak (COL) def. Kole Mulhauser (PRIN) | Dec., 3-1
184 – Aaron Ayzeron (COL) def. No. 32 Nate Dugan (PRIN) | Fall, 4:44
197 – No. 17 Luke Stout (PRIN) def. Jack Wehmeyer (COL) | MD, 11-2
HWT – No. 33 Travis Stefanik (PRIN) def. Billy McChesney (COL) | Dec., 3-1
125 – No. 26 Nick Babin (COL) def. Nick Kayal (PRIN) | Fall, 1:59
133 – Patrick Glory (PRIN) def. No. 26 Angelo Rini (COL) | Dec., 7-3
141 – No. 24 Matt Kazimir (COL) def. Danny Coles (PRIN) | Fall, 2:25
149 – Danny Fongaro (COL) def. Marshall Keller (PRIN) | Dec., 5-3
157 – No. 21 Cesar Alvan (COL) def. Ty Whalen (PRIN) | Dec., 3-1
 
Cumulative Scoring Results:
165 | PRIN 3, COL 0
174 | PRIN 3, COL 3
184 | COL 9, PRIN 3
197 | COL 9, PRIN 7
HWT | PRIN 10, COL 9
125 | COL 15, PRIN 10
133 | COL 15, PRIN 13
141 | COL 21, PRIN 13
149 | COL 24, PRIN 13
157 | COL 27, PRIN 13
 
UP NEXT

The Lions are back at home on Sunday to host No. 27 Penn in a 1 p.m. dual match at Levien Gym. Admission is free and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.

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