PISCATAWAY, N.J. — With five straight wins through the middle of the dual, Columbia Wrestling (4-10, 4-5 EIWA, 2-3 IVY) nearly pulled off the upset in its final dual of the season, but the Lions fell just short at No. 14 Rutgers (16-5, 3-5 BIG10), falling 21-17, in a Saturday afternoon dual at Jersey Mikes Arena.
 
Columbia got wins from weights 141 to 174 pounds as they stormed past the Scarlet Knights after dropping the two opening bouts.  No. 20 Matt Kazimir (141), Danny Fongaro (149), Andrew Garr (157), No. 19 Joshua Ogunsanya (165) and Nick Fine (174) all collected wins for the Lions as they owned the heart of the lineup.
 
Fongaro (16-10) and Fine (20-11) are now both on four-match winning streaks, while Ogunsanya (17-5) now has three-straight and has won six out of his last seven bouts.  For Kazimir (18-5) he gets back to his winning ways and has won two out of his last three bouts and with Garr's (12-10) win he has three wins in his last four bouts.
 
But for the Lions, in the final three bouts, they were unable to come away with wins and it allowed Rutgers to catch up and pass Columbia in the team score.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: In the opening two duals, Rutgers got wins to open up a 9-0 lead in the dual.  Wins for the Scarlet Knights came from No. 27 Dylan Shawver (125) over No. 31 Joe Manchio, via a 7-1 decision, and at 133 pounds when No. 23 Angelo Rini lost via fall (2:38) to No. 16 Joseph Olivieri.
 
But at 141 pounds the Lions began their five-match winning streak thanks to a solid 7-4 decision from Kazimir over Andrew Gapas.  Gapas took an early 4-1 lead, but with 47 seconds left in the third period, Kazimir completed his comeback with a takedown that gave him a 5-4 lead, and after another two points he locked up Columbia's first win of the dual and put the score at 9-3.
 
For the second straight night, Fongaro provided bonus points for the Lions, getting his second straight win and 10th of the season, via major decision when he calmly worked a 10-0 win over Asa Garcia.  The bonus points closed the gap in the team score to 9-7 after the opening four bouts.
 
The Lions would pull within one point after Garr's win over Al DeSantis at 157 pounds.  The Columbian 157-pounder scored late to pad his lead, nearly scoring a major decision, and the win pulled the Lions within one point as the score sat at 9-8.
 
Following a 10-minute intermission, the Lions continued their winning ways, with Ogunsanya securing more bonus points for the Lions, collecting his second straight win via major decision and sixth of the season as he beat Andrew Clark 13-4.
 
With the win at 165 pounds, the Lions had moved into the lead and with four bouts remaining Columbia had its first advantage of the night with score sitting at 14-9.
 
Columbia added to its lead in the next bout with another win, as Fine battled hard to hold off Connor O'Neill, winning via decision 2-1.  Fine scored early and remained active in his defense, locking up Columbia's fifth straight win and putting the dual score at 17-9.
 
Unfortunately for the Lions the win at 174 pounds would be the last, as over the next three bouts the Lions would fail to pick up any wins.
 
The turning point came at 184 pounds when Brian Bonino nearly pulled off the big upset over No. 11 John Poznanski, falling in sudden victory, 3-1.  In that sudden victory period, Bonino, and the Columbia bench, had thought the winning two points had been secured as Bonino had position on top, but the two points never came, and Poznanski eventually got himself into a scoring position to wrap up the bout.
 
Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli threw the challenge brick, but after review the officials upheld the call and the loss meant that Rutgers had pulled within 17-12.
 
Rutgers took the lead ta 197 pounds when No. 11 Greg Bulsak beat Sam Wustefeld via fall (2:43) with the six points putting Rutgers up 18-17.  The final bout of the dual, competed at 285 pounds, decided the evening with Boone McDermott winning over Danny Conley via a 5-1 decision to wrap up the dual with Rutgers coming away with the 21-17 win.
 
NO. 14 RUTGERS 21, COLUMBIA 17
Piscataway, N.J. (Jersey Mikes Arena)
 
125 | No. 27 Dylan Shawver (RU) def. No. 31 Joe Manchio (COL) dec. 7-1
133 | No. 16 Joseph Olivieri (RU) def. No. 23 Angelo Rini (COL) fall (2:38)
141 | No. 20 Matt Kazimir (COL) def. Andrew Gapas (RU) dec. 7-4
149 | Danny Fongaro (COL) def. Asa Garcia (RU) maj. 10-0
157 | Andrew Garr (COL) def. Al DeSantis (RU) dec. 8-2
165 | No. 19 Joshua Ogunsanya (COL) def. Andrew Clark (RU) maj. 13-4
174 | Nick Fine (COL) def. Connor O'Neill (RU) dec. 2-1
184 | No. 11 John Poznanski (COL) def. Brian Bonino (COL) SV-1 3-1
197 | No. 11 Greg Bulsak (RU) def. Sam Wustefeld (COL) fall (1:43)
285 | Boone McDermott (RU) def. Danny Conley (COL) dec. 5-1
 
EXHIBITION MATCHES:
133 | David Campbell (RU) def. Zack Witmer (COL) dec. 5-3
 
NEXT UP: The Lions will now take a weekend off before heading to Ithaca, New York for the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships, hosted by Cornell, set to run from Mar. 5-6 at Newman Arena.
 
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