Saturday, January 21, 2006

Contact: Scott Dunford

Camels Go 1-2 on Day Two of CAA Duals; Finish 2-3

FAIRFAX, Va. – Jason Cook, lived up to his preseason billing, as the CAA All-Freshman selection, went 5-0 to lead Campbell to a 2-3 overall finish at the Coloanial Athletic Association Duals, over the weekend. The Camels finished day two of the event 1-2, beating Wagner 22-20, while losing to Drexel 36-12 and Sacred Heart 48-6. Campbell's record now stands at 2-6 in dual meets and 2-3 in the CAA.

The Camels were 1-1 after day one. The team split two meets winning 38-15 over Binghamton and dropping a 38-9 decision to Boston University.

On day two, the Camels opened with a loss to assistant coach Patrick Shufelt's alma mater, Drexel. The Camels dropped the first five matches, before Brent Poynter was able to secure a win at the 165-pound position, beating Scott Hunter 6-0. The Camels tried to comeback with wins from Kyle Higgins (184) and Cook (197) to close the gap to 30-12, but that was as close as the Camels would come.

The second match of the day was one of the most exciting matches the team has had this season, as the Camels were trailing for much of the match before rallying for the win.

The match began with Richie Apolinar getting a win for Campbell 4-2 over Mike Rooney. Wagner then rattled off four straight wins, to take a commanding 14-3 lead. The Camels battled back with a win by Poynter, who finished the CAAs 3-2, making him 9-4 since moving to the 165-pound weight class.

Poynter's win narrowed the margin to 14-6. However, the Camels were forced to forfeit the 174-pound weight class, with normal starter James Amsley out with an injury suffered at Gardner-Webb earlier in the season. The forfeit made the score 20-6 in favor of Wagner.

The Camels would take advantage of a pair of Wagner forfeits in the 184 and 197-pound weight divisions to narrow the margin to 20-18 going into the final match. In that match, Jeremiah Fennell, a preseason honorable mention CAA All-Freshman team member, would step up when the Camels needed him most, by defeating John Cichon 12-3 to complete the Campbell comeback for the 22-20 win.

Following that match, the Camels had to regroup to face Sacred Heart in the last match of the CAA Duals. The team from Fairfield, Conn. dominated the Camels, winning nine of the 10 matches. The lone bright spot for the Camels came when Cook was able to score six points by pinning Michael Ames at the 1:34 mark in their match.

The Camels two wins, equals their total from last season (2-17) and improves the number of conference matches won over last season, when the team went 1-7 against CAA opponents.

Campbell wrestling will return to action on Saturday. The Camels travel to Davidson, N.C. to take on the teams from Davidson and Anderson College, in a meet beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Drexel Results Wagner Results Sacred Heart Results Complete Day Two Results