Sports

Wrestlers lose first ever dual-match, regroup for fifth place

By Grant Wieman GVL Staff Writer
1/31/2010

As the three-time defending champions at the event, the Grand Valley State University wrestlers were the team to beat at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association national duals championship in Shelbyville, Tenn. In the Lakers' first matchup, West Chester (Pennsylvania) University answered the call.

"We've always had a target on our back based on what we've done in the NCWA," said senior John Aikens. "The pressure is always on us. Every match we've got to go out there and perform."

The loss to West Chester on Saturday was the first dual-match GVSU has ever dropped to an NCWA team, and it kept the Lakers from qualifying for the championship bracket. The best they could finish at the tournament was fifth place.

They regrouped and did just that.

"We learned a lot about ourselves today," said head coach Rick Bolhuis. "When we lost, the guys were pretty down and understandably so. Dealing with (the adversity) makes them a better man in the long run. I believe we became better men today."

The No. 1 ranked Lakers ended the day by defeating Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York), in-state rival Oakland University and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County in succession.

Despite their ranking, the Lakers were seeded third in the tournament, which Marion Military Institute eventually claimed.

The early loss would have caused an emotionally weaker team to collapse. Instead, GVSU rallied, said junior Adam Bastow.

"It's not that bad when we know we wrestled to the best of our abilities," he said. "We know that we've worked and trained hard enough that we should be able to bounce back from something like that."

Bastow, wrestling at 133 pounds, was undefeated at the event, as were Aikens (197 pounds), junior Corey Melinn (Heavyweight) and sophomore Carl Worthy (235 pounds).

The fifth-place finish did not sit well with the team, but some members conceded it could benefit them in the long run.

"It might take a little bit of that pressure off of us, actually," Aikens said. "We realized that we've got to help each other out, and we bounced right back. I feel like at the end of the day it's going to help us perform better in March. We're going to be the underdogs now."

GVSU won the meet last year and finished second at nationals. Last year's fifth-place dual finisher, the Apprentice School, won the National Championship.

"When you're the best, you want to stay the best, and you use that as motivation to want to be the best," Worthy said. "It'll probably take some pressure off because we weren't first, but we're still Grand Valley. I still think we're the team to beat."

One of the motivating factors at the event was a rematch against Oakland, whom the Lakers defeated on Jan. 10.

"They're always gunning for us," Aikens said. "They come out hard, firing at us. We know that, we know it's a tough matchup, and we came out on top again."

The Lakers, who won the national title from 2006-2008, will get their chance to regroup Sunday at the Laker Open in the Fieldhouse Arena. The National Championship will be held in March.

g.wieman@lanthorn.com

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