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Tigers hope strong offseason equates to victories on mat A good offseason will hopefully turn around the fortunes of the Amherst wrestling team. Last year, the Tigers finished 1-7 in ECIC Division II, 1-16 overall. "We had one of our best offseasons in years," said Amherst coach Dennis Bauer. "Most of the returning wrestlers attended camp over the summer and wrestled in our club. I was expecting 15 kids to come back; we have 29 on the roster." Bauer thinks the 2007-08 team is more balanced than the 2006-07 squad. "Last year was frustrating because we had a lot of kids who had talent and experience and then we had kids with nothing," said Bauer. "We had no kids in the middle. This year, I think we're much more centered. Our good is not that good but our bad is a little more advanced. We're also a little more together as a team. The new kids are also picking things up fast so we don't have to slow down for them." The team will be led by tri-captains, senior Matt Weber and juniors Pete Battaglia and Corey Damon. Weber, a four-year varsity wrestler, has the most experience coming back and will wrestle at 152 pounds. He also won the 145-pound division at the Maryvale Varsity Invitational late last year. Battaglia and Damon are also returning wrestlers and should go at either 189 or 215 pounds. Bauer loves Weber's effort. "He never stops wrestling no matter what point of the match it is," said Bauer. "He also has ability, strength and good technique." Other returning wrestlers are juniors Kory and Kreig Roche, Nick Hernandez and Brian Rice and sophomore Gabe Graves. The Roche brothers are vying for the starting spot at 145 pounds. Hernandez and Rice are in the mix at 160 and 171. Graves is working at 275. Senior first-year grappler Mark Tarquini is also trying to get a starting spot at 171. The rest of the lineup looks like freshman Max Legierski or sophomore first-year wrestler Nick Pantano (112); Legierski, Pantano or first-year wrestler, junior Matt Schillinger (119); sophomores Pat Donovan or Nick Celano or junior Ben Brown (125 or 130); sophomore Sean Cunningham (135) and freshman Josh Kapus (140). Legierski and Kapus are up from modified. Bauer lauded the work of modified coach Stefan Henn for getting modified kids ready for varsity. Amherst alum Steve Lachut coaches JV and is assisted by Ron Parker. Bauer said top sophomores on the team are Celano, Donovan and Cunningham. He's also excited about Brown, who he said had a good freshman year. Bauer feels ECIC II is going to be tough again and feels Cheektowaga will be the favorite. To compete in the league, Bauer said his team has to focus on winning close matches by not giving up pins and finishing matches strong. Amherst opened its season in the Orchard Park Tournament on Saturday. (see other story). They lost 47-27 to Frontier on Monday.
"We're ready to get rolling," said Bauer. "The kids have been super positive and focused." |
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