CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Franklin & Marshall's wrestling team opened EIWA competition on Saturday with a pair of tough losses on the road. The Diplomats (2-3, 0-2 EIWA) saw their comeback bid fall just short in a 21-18 loss against Brown (3-2, 1-1 EIWA) before F&M traveled to Cambridge for a hard-fought 28-17 defeat against Harvard (1-3, 1-1 EIWA). 

Against Brown, the Diplomats trailed by a 21-9 score with just two matches remaining. The comeback bid began with a clutch first-period pin (2:40) from Philip Robilotto at 197 pounds to put six points on the board and pull F&M within five. Antonio Pelusi was victorious at 285 pounds. However, his 1-0 decision was unable to fully close the gap for the Diplomats. 

After dropping the opening three bouts on the day, F&M responded with five wins in the final seven matchups.

Wil Gil (149 pounds) delivered a narrow 9-8 decision, and Emmett LiCastri downed Christian LaBrie by a 9-3 tally at 157 pounds. Jacob Conners also earned a win at 174 pounds, toppling his opponent by a 5-2 decision score. 

F&M hit the road for the second match of the day and was in an early 9-0 hole against Harvard after the 125- and 133-pound matches. Wil Gil answered for the Diplomats resoundingly at 141 with a third-period pin, improved to 2-0 on Saturday, pulling the Diplomats within three at 9-6.

The Crimson fired back with wins in the next five bouts to seal the match. P. Robilotto helped F&M finish strong with his second win of the trip, dominating Cole Bateman with a 16-1 tech. fall that ended at 2:09. Robilotto made quick work of his opponent with a pair of takedowns and 12 near fall points. A forfeit at 285 added another six points to the Diplomats' final total. 

The weekend's New England road trip draws to a close tomorrow when F&M heads to Connecticut to take on Sacred Heart at 12:00 p.m.

Brown 21, Franklin & Marshall 18
125: Trey Keeley (BROW) over Jose Diaz (F&M) (Dec 8-5)
133: Reese Fry (BROW) over Mike Simonetti (F&M) (MD 13-4)
141: Colin Realbuto (BROW) over Paddy Quinlan (F&M) (Dec 6-2)
149: Wil Gil (F&M) over Jack Bokina (BROW) (Dec 9-8)
157: Emmett LiCastri (F&M) over Christian Labrie (BROW) (Dec 9-3)
165: Jonathan Viruet (BROW) over Crew Fullerton (F&M) (Fall 0:57)
174: Jacob Conners (F&M) over Cade Wilson (BROW) (Dec 5-2)
184: Christian LaFragola (BROW) over Reid Robilotto (F&M) (TF 24-9 0:00)
197: Philip Robilotto (F&M) over Tucker Ziegler (BROW) (Fall 2:40)
285: Antonio Pelusi (F&M) over James Valentino (BROW) (Dec 1-0)

Harvard 28, Franklin & Marshall 17
125: Nolan Hellickson (HARV) over Jose Diaz (F&M) (TF 15-0 6:11)
133: Lukus Stricker (HARV) over Mike Simonetti (F&M) (MD 8-0)
141: Wil Gil (F&M) over Ryan Friedman (HARV) (Fall 5:23)
149: Brock Wilson (HARV) over Chris Martorello (F&M) (MD 15-3)
157: Hunter Ladnier (HARV) over Emmett LiCastri (F&M) (MD 8-0)
165: Tyler Tarsi (HARV) over Crew Fullerton (F&M) (Dec 8-3)
174: Leonardo Tarantino (HARV) over Jacob Conners (F&M) (MD 17-3)
184: Clifton Wang (HARV) over Reid Robilotto (F&M) (MD 10-1)
197: Philip Robilotto (F&M) over Cole Bateman (HARV) (TF 16-1 2:09)
285: Antonio Pelusi (F&M) over (HARV) (For.)