Room for Improvement

The wrestling remodel at Davidson College continues under second-year coach Andy Lausier

Lake Norman Currents | January 2019

By Aaron Garcia

If there's a fitting emblem of Andy Lausier's sudden impact on the Davidson College wrestling program, it has to be the team's wrestling room.

It's not that the Wildcats were practicing in a broom closet prior to Lausier's arrival; the room itself was built in 1989. Its four walls and mats were certainly serviceable, just not particularly inspiring.

When Lausier arrived in spring 2017, he decided the room needed to serve a greater function than just housing practice mats. He added a full-length photo mural depicting the program's evolution since it started in 1920 — the entire piece underlined by Davidson-red wrestling mats. In between, school logos fill in the gaps.

Now, says the coach, the room is helping him achieve the first step in any good rebuilding process — getting everyone else excited.

"I think branding is so important because it drives pride," says Lausier.

Craving change

Prior to his arrival at Davidson, Lausier had built a name within wrestling circles as a rebranding specialist of sorts. Just two years removed from a distinguished career at Lycoming College (Pennsylvania), where he was a 197-pound All-American, Lausier resurrected the program at Stephens Technical Institute (New Jersey), guiding the Ducks to the Division III national tournament in each of his three seasons. He helped steer similar turnarounds as an assistant at Princeton and as the head coach at Sacred Heart University (Connecticut).

It was at that last stop where he first discovered Davidson. Lausier was waiting in Davidson's wrestling room (yes, the same one) with his Sacred Heart team before a match against the Wildcats. All his grapplers had made weight, so he grabbed his running shoes and took a jog around campus to kill time. It was one of those days that tourism bureaus drool over — sunny and 65 degrees in February.

"I was coming from three feet of snow," Lausier recalls with a laugh.

The weather may have helped, but Lausier says he was most impressed with the program's potential, especially with its stature as a high-level academic institution. "It was a place I specifically had my eye on because I know how good we can get here," he says.

The rebuild hasn't been without its obstacles. Lausier inherited just 14 wrestlers when he started last year and accepting the job in April didn't leave him time to recruit more. Instead, he focused on the guys still in the building.

"The first thing I could tell was that they were really craving change," remembers Lausier. "They just wanted more; they wanted structure."

The goal in the room

On its face, Davidson's record that first season (3-10) was worse than the year before Lausier arrived (4-14). But a midseason win over conference stalwart The Citadel — the Wildcats' first-ever in 55 tries over the Bulldogs — was the "milestone win" his team needed.

This season, despite a record of 2-3 headed into their post-holiday schedule, Lausier is measuring his team's success by its improvement. There have certainly been gains, says the coach, as evidenced by individual tournament titles and unexpected pins over big-time opponents.

"I think there's a different type of aggressiveness and ambition from our wrestlers when they take the mat [this season]," says Lausier.

Junior co-captain Hunter Costa (165 pounds) agrees.

"It's been a complete culture change," says Costa. "It's been awesome. The joy to be in the sport again — not just for me, but the entire team — it's evident every day."

Now, says senior co-captain Tony Palumbo (157 pounds), the Wildcats are excited about reaching their next milestone, which they hope includes a breakthrough performance at the Southern Conference tournament and maybe even a memorable trek through the national championships.

Says Palumbo, "That's everyone's goal in this room."