Wrestling Preview:

After the suspension of last year's season, the Yeshiva University wrestling team looks towards this year to get back on track. Captains Ari Simchi (Fair Lawn, NJ/ Frisch) and Isaac Kuyunov (Hollis, NY), lead Coach Ellman's Maccabees with only two other returning wrestlers, Jeremy Jaffe (Monsey, NY/TABC) and Max Saltzman (Lincolnwood, IL/Ida Crown).

There are seven newcomers on this year's squad. They are Gregory Kupsin, Amichai Levy, Ben Meth, Yafim Strashnoy, Rian Khalder, Ben Kadish, and Ryan Goldstein.

Much intrigue surrounds Kupsin, an Israeli, who is under the tutelage of the Captain Kuyunov. Prior to joining the Maccabees, Kupsin wrestled in Israel for eight years in the Greco-Roman style, placing third in 2004 in an Israeli national competition. Kupsin commented, "The new techniques are not so easy for me to get used to, so it will take time for me to get adjusted." The Macs are hoping Kuyunov can help Kupsin make the transition to folk-style wrestling.

According to Captain Simchi, another notable freshman is Amichai Levy, wrestling in the 133-pound weight class. "He is a hard worker and studies the sport extensively to see what he can use for his advantage."

Yafim Strashnoy, known for his brute upper-body strength, wrestling in the heavyweight class, is someone to keep an eye out for. He is very aggressive and is training to learn the moves and maximize his upper body strength.

Ben Meth, a freshman from Kushner Hebrew Academy was the runner up in the Wittenberg tournament in 2006. He is balanced, controlled, experienced and tough. His background should help his chances to make himself known on the collegiate level. Meth's brother Avi, is the head coach of Kushner's High School wrestling team.

Rian Khaldar and Benjamin Kadish are the two other newcomers who will have a chance to show off their moves and are hoping to make an impact for the Macs.

Captain Isaac Kuyunov, a three-year veteran and last year's recipient of the Henry Wittenberg award, has taken the lead at practices, pushing guys to exhaustion. Kuyunov is one of the hardest-working grapplers and should emerge victorious in some matches this year.

Captain Ari Simchi is hoping to improve on last year's results. He took his place in yeshiva high school history by winning the acclaimed Champions of Champions Award, given to wrestlers who have won the Henry Wittenberg Invitational Wrestling Tournament for four consecutive years. He and his brother, Ron, who will be wrestling for the Macs in the spring semester, are the only two people to receive this award. He ended last year's season for YU with a strong win, defeating the captain of Bergen Community College Wrestling Team. His hope is that he can take the momentum from that win and carry it over to this season.

Jeremy Jaffe, wrestling in the 149-pound weight class is another Wittenberg champion. He invests a lot of time and effort into improving his game and is hoping that his hard work pays off on the mat this season.

Max Saltzman, a runner up for two consecutive years in the Wittenberg tournament has shown that he is a strong wrestler, and having another year of experience under his belt will make him smarter. However, to take the next step he must improve on his conditioning, like much of the team.

After last year's disappointing season, the four returnees are hoping to cause some damage in the world of collegiate wrestling. In order for that to happen, they must get some help from the newcomers. There are plenty of capable newcomers and Coach Ellman is banking on a few of them to produce.