2001-02 Wrestling Outlook

Coming off the best season in the history of the program, the Trinity College wrestling team will strive to retain that success and establish itself as a perennial power in the New England region. The Bantams posted a 15-9-1 dual record to finish the regular season as the No. 1-ranked team in New England. Trinity legitimized that status with a first-place finish at the New England Championships, and sent two wrestlers to the NCAA Division III National Championships. The program's recent success, under the direction of 2000-01 New England Coach of the Year Sebby Amato (16th season), has yielded benefits in recruiting; a talented group of freshmen will complement 12 veterans this season.

Trinity must recover from the loss of its four senior captains from a year ago; all of whom were All-New England performers during their careers. Riad deFreitas, new assistant coach Ted Govola, Michael Marcucio, and Steven Mulvihill helped the Bantams achieve an unprecedented level of success over their four-years and a 59-34-1 record during that span. Junior Mark Foresi (West Springfield, Mass.) is a great place to begin a new era, after the 141-pounder became the first Bantam to earn All-American honors since 1998. Foresi, the New England Rookie of the Year in 1999-00, posted a 25-4 record last season and finished sixth in the nation in his weight class. He is ranked as the No. 5 141-pounder in the nation in pre-season.

Senior captain Matt Banas (Meriden, Conn.) is the lone representative of the Class of 2002 on the roster. Banas is a three-year letterwinner who can wrestle anywhere from 157 pounds to 184 pounds. He leads a seasoned group of veteran grapplers who should play larger roles in 2001-02

Three members of the sophomore class have already proved they can make an impact at the collegiate level. 184-pounder Michael Doros (East Hartford, Conn.) and 157-pounder Wesley Connell (Simsbury, Conn.) each earned All-New England honors last winter, combining for a 42-17 record between them. Classmate Warren Wong (Saratoga, Calif.) emerged as the top 125-pound wrestler for Coach Amato, and looks to build on a productive rookie campaign.

With three All-New England wrestlers returning from its fourth consecutive winning season and its third straight top-five finish in the New England College Conference Wrestling Association, the Trinity coaching staff is eager to defend its league title in 2001-02. “We have made it to the point where we can compete with anybody at all the weight classes,” explains Amato. “We have two goals this season: to finish in the top three in the New England Conference and to continue to qualify wrestlers for Nationals, something we’ve done eight times in the last 10 seasons.”