As if restarting a Division I wrestling program wasn’t hard enough.

Freshman heavyweight Ed Bordas was arrested by the Binghamton city police early Friday morning on three misdemeanor charges. They include third degree assault, resisting arrest and fourth degree criminal mischief.

The allegations outlined in a police report state that Bordas, of Montgomery, N.Y., tried to punch a man, but he missed and accidentally hit a woman in the face in the stairwell at the Rathskeller Pub on 92 State Street in Downtown Binghamton. He later damaged the inside of a holding cell at the police station on Hawley and State streets, leading to the mischief charges, according to the local Fox affiliate.

Bordas was summarily suspended from both Binghamton University and its wrestling program pending the outcome of an investigation, according to an e-mail letter left in public at the Events Center apparently sent by a BU spokeswoman the afternoon of Bordas’s arrest.

When reached Monday night, Bordas declined to comment on the advice of his lawyer. The team’s coach also couldn’t be reached for comment.

The BU wrestling team has seen adversity over the last few years, especially after President Lois B. DeFleur canceled the 2004-05 season, citing a tight budget.

But a $230,000 state grant was awarded to reinstate the program, and the Bearcats finally returned to the mat this November. While new head coach Tony Robie knew his team would struggle early on, the community seemed excited to see this young squad compete and improve, as 549 fans came out to the first home match at the West Gym last Thursday.

Bordas was one of only two BU wrestlers to win that night against Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Hours later, Bordas found himself in a police jail cell on criminal charges. His suspension made him ineligible to compete at the East Stroudsburg Open at Koehler Gymnasium last Saturday.

The Bearcats were already at a disadvantage this season, as they haven’t been able to fill certain weight classes. Losing their only heavyweight could lead to even more forfeits.

Bordas’s arrest isn’t the first time BU’s wrestling team has gotten into trouble over its members’ conduct.

In one of the most notorious crime incidents in recent Binghamton University history, several wrestling team members assaulted a group of Asian students and shouted racial slurs at them in 2000. One of the most seriously injured students suffered a fractured skull, cerebral hemorrhaging and a concussion during the attack. The incident triggered an F.B.I. investigation.

In the wake of the violence, President DeFleur issued a set of guidelines officials said were intended to keep the team on a tighter disciplinary leash.

DeFleur’s 2000 guidelines called for wrestling recruits to possess the “ability and desire to be good citizens of the University community.” When recruiting wrestlers, “[Officials] are directed to take a more careful look at behavioral attributes of prospective student athletes, to ensure that they are of sufficient character to appropriately represent the University.”