Spring Break
Wrestling falls at Roger Williams Tournament: Schmidt takes 2nd place
Issue date: 11/20/08
The road that lies ahead of the Blue Jay wrestling team is a tough one. They field a team of mostly younger wrestlers, but they're no less willing to compete and learn. Despite their age, some of the Hopkins wrestlers have turned in impressive performances even though they're only a few weeks into the season. This past weekend, the talent was on full display as the Jays traveled all the way up to Bristol, R.I. to compete against some of the toughest Division III teams in the country at the Roger Williams Invitational.
In a debut season that is already turning some heads, 133-pounder Michael Testa took fourth in a very tough division. After placing second in last week's Messiah College tournament, all eyes were on him. However, he's still new to the game, and his tournament was almost over before he knew it as he dropped his first match by a score of 3-1. But Testa recovered and bruised his way through the rest of the tournament.
"After losing my first match of the day, I had to battle back to reach the consolation finals," Testa said. "I wrestled a lot of close hard fought matches and ultimately that can only help me to improve."
That tough bunch of matches began with a win by fall in only 3:35. His next opponent fared little better, as Testa won easily 13-0. As the wrestler who had defeated him in the first round was eliminated, Testa worked his way through the next few rounds, beating out his opponents by close scores; 7-3, 8-5 and 4-1, all the way into the third place bout. But it was here he fell to a wrestler from RIC by the narrowest of margins; 5-4.
The Jays stalled in the middle weights, but in the 174-pound weight class another freshman, Andrew Brochu, was able to break into the top six. His day started much the same way Testa's did; a tough first round decision to a good opponent, losing 6-2. But also like his teammate, Brochu rebounded with a win in the next round, overcoming a UMA wrestler by a score of 3-2. Winning his next two matches by decision earned a guaranteed top six finish. After losing by fall in the next round, he then competed for a fifth place finish. But unfortunately, he lost the match again by fall. His day was still successful, though, as he finished sixth overall and earned valuable team points.
In a debut season that is already turning some heads, 133-pounder Michael Testa took fourth in a very tough division. After placing second in last week's Messiah College tournament, all eyes were on him. However, he's still new to the game, and his tournament was almost over before he knew it as he dropped his first match by a score of 3-1. But Testa recovered and bruised his way through the rest of the tournament.
"After losing my first match of the day, I had to battle back to reach the consolation finals," Testa said. "I wrestled a lot of close hard fought matches and ultimately that can only help me to improve."
That tough bunch of matches began with a win by fall in only 3:35. His next opponent fared little better, as Testa won easily 13-0. As the wrestler who had defeated him in the first round was eliminated, Testa worked his way through the next few rounds, beating out his opponents by close scores; 7-3, 8-5 and 4-1, all the way into the third place bout. But it was here he fell to a wrestler from RIC by the narrowest of margins; 5-4.
The Jays stalled in the middle weights, but in the 174-pound weight class another freshman, Andrew Brochu, was able to break into the top six. His day started much the same way Testa's did; a tough first round decision to a good opponent, losing 6-2. But also like his teammate, Brochu rebounded with a win in the next round, overcoming a UMA wrestler by a score of 3-2. Winning his next two matches by decision earned a guaranteed top six finish. After losing by fall in the next round, he then competed for a fifth place finish. But unfortunately, he lost the match again by fall. His day was still successful, though, as he finished sixth overall and earned valuable team points.
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