Rocco Camillaci's big win and ensuing penalty point were key factors in the match.
Princeton University junior Rocco Camillaci shot in with seven seconds left in a tie match and lifted Rider’s Gianni Maldonado.
With just a couple ticks left on the clock, Camillaci brought Maldonado down for a winning takedown that gave him a 4-1 victory and the Tigers a third straight decision.
An emotional Camillaci took off his headgear, walked over to the bench and excitedly used his right hand to slap the hand of his head coach Joe Dubuque to celebrate. At about the same time, the headgear came out of his left hand and skittered about a foot across the floor by the Tigers bench.
By the time Camillaci returned to the center of the mat to shake hands with his vanquished opponent, he had been hit with a one-point team deduction for throwing his head gear.
The controversial call loomed large later in the match after Princeton won its sixth straight bout to go up 19-11 with two weights to go.
Rider sophomore Brock Zurawski (197) pinned Gabe Garibaldi in the second period when he was on the verge of settling for a technical fall. The six points made it a 19-17 score, and senior Ohio State transfer Hogan Swenski completed the comeback with a 4-1 win over Conor McCloskey to give the Broncs a 20-19 win.
Had the refs not made the headgear call, the score would have been tied at 20 and Princeton would have been victorious on most match wins. Had Zurawski had to settle for a technical fall, the score would have been tied at 19 and the Tigers would have won on the same criteria.
Instead it was a stunning comeback after an almost inconceivable victory for Princeton and its decimated lineup which was missing four starters and had just been thumped at home by Columbia, 36-3, on Friday night.
Princeton coach Joe Dubuque soundly questioned the call on Camillaci during the match and when he could see where the final score was headed, he called a rules interpreter and handed the phone to the official after the match. The officials declined to alter their call, and Dubuque said he planned to appeal.
Video of the violation is unclear whether it meets the criteria of a toss. Camillaci’s left arm is down by his side. The headgear comes out as he’s celebrating a last-second takedown. Did he throw it or drop it?
If it is a toss by the letter of the law, is that really the spirit of the rule?
“They called a headgear throw, it wasn’t a headgear throw,” said Princeton coach Joe Dubuque. “He literally smacked my hand, the headgear fell out of his hand. I picked it up, went to give it back to him and by that time the ref had already called him for unsportsmanlike throwing the head gear.
“I understand the nature of the rule, but that’s not it. Let’s impose some common sense. That’s the reason we lose the dual? No way. We come in here, we’re out-manned, we got (four) starters out, we’re forfeiting 133, our guys wrestled their butts off. I can take a loss straight up, but that way I can’t take. I can’t accept that.”
Rider coach John Hangey admitted the Broncs were lucky because they were flat and Princeton clearly out-wrestled them. But he said by rule the toss should be penalized.
“A rule’s a rule, I’ll tell you what the rule says,” said Hangey. “If I take my headgear off and I (toss it gently) that’s a team point. That’s how simple it is. If it leaves my possession. ... Remember, I was on the rules committee. It was pretty blatant. I saw a kid, his headgear broke, he took it off because it was impeding his vision and slid it over to the coaches and it was a team point.
“They can review it all day. I know a lot of high-ended people in the NCAA, so I’ll be talking to them as well.”
Princeton had no right being in the match in the first place.
NCAA 125-pound qualifier Marc-Anthony McGowan - who won by major decision over Rider’s Tyler Klinsky at the Princeton Open - suffered a shoulder injury last Sunday in a match against Lehigh’s Sheldon Seymour. McGowan stayed in the match and appeared to score a match-winning takedown in the final seconds, but it was overturned on review.
McGowan was unavailable Saturday, and Klinsky won by technical fall over Dale O’Blia.
The Tigers forfeited 133 because Danny Jones - who has battled injuries going back to his Delbarton days - heard a pop in his knee during his match against Columbia Friday. The knee swelled up, and the Princeton trainer did not clear him to participate.
Princeton’s backup 133-pounder Ethan Rivera was competing at the Bloomsburg Open Saturday to get some matches in. By the time Jones was ruled out, he had already weighed in.
Had the match been held Sunday as scheduled, Rivera would have been available - but the dual was moved to Saturday because of the impending snow storm.
Princeton is also without NCAA qualifier and 184/197-pounder Kohl Muhlhauser, who is out for the year with an injury, as well as heavyweight Sebastian Garibaldi, who could return at some point this season.
Tyler Vazquez, who may have been in the mix at 157 pounds, returned from injury at the F&M Open earlier this month and immediately suffered a season-ending injury.
But somehow, the Tigers put themselves in position to win a rivalry match that never seems to disappoint.
Last year, Rider won 23-19 by taking the last three matches. The season prior, Dubuque picked up his first win as Princeton coach with a 20-19 victory.
In 2023, Rider won 19-18 on criteria D (most near-fall points).
Princeton started the comeback from an 11-0 deficit when freshman Matthew Martino (141) scored a takedown and back points in the final minute to beat nationally-ranked Eli Griffin, 9-5. Eligh Rivera (149) topped Dylan Layton, 4-1, in sudden victory and Camillaci won another dramatic match prior to the hugely debated call.
Ty Whalen (165) then picked up a major decision and Holden Garcia not only upset Enrique Munguia at 174, he won by major decision. When Xavier Gilles (184) beat Giovanni Alejandro, 4-1, on a takedown in tiebreaker, it gave the Tigers an eight-point lead and a tiebreaker edge.
“I didn’t say much (Friday) because I actually said if you can’t take something from that (loss to Columbia) and you need me to tell you, then we have a bigger problem,” said Dubuque. “Today was a flip. It’s all about a mindset flip, and it was pretty awesome. I’m super proud of the way our guys competed. I loved it. They put on a great show.”
But Zurawski erased most of the lead and any criteria advantage when he pinned Garibaldi.
“My mindset going into that match was I need a pin, and that was really it,” said Zurawski. “(Assistant) Nic (Bedelyon) told me we need six, get something tight. That’s all I was focused on.
“I didn’t know how the (criteria) would have worked if I got the tech, but the whole match I had a job to do and I had to get it done at the end of the day.”
The pin left the dual up to Swenski, who transferred to Rider from Ohio State in early December, and had lost two excruciating decisions by giving up takedowns in the final minute.
This time, he made his one-takedown advantage hold up in a 4-1 win.
“That’s what I came here for,” said Swenski. “It’s a big rivalry. I see that trophy every day in the practice room, and I just wanted to keep it where it belongs.”
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Category: General Sports
