Hofstra University’s new wrestling head coach, Jamie Franco, earned his first two dual wins on Saturday, Nov. 16, at home in the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The Pride started the busy day with a 21-12 victory over Duke University, followed by a 28-6 loss to the Citadel the Military Academy of South Carolina and ending with a 33-12 victory over Sacred Heart University (SHU).
“[Earning the first win] was nice,” Franco said. “I keep saying that this has been special. Honored to be able to be a head coach at Hofstra … It was really nice to be able [win] at home for the first time in front of the alumni and with a good turnout for our first dual meet.”
The standout performance of the day came from graduate student Ross McFarland who won all three of his matches at 184 pounds. In the dual against the Citadel, McFarland posted an 8-2 win by decision over Billy Janzer, who is ranked No. 26 by FloWrestling and No.28 by InterMat. Against Duke, McFarland won by major decision 16-3 and earned a 20-4 win by technical fall against SHU. McFarland is off to a 5-1 start to his season after moving up a weight class from last season.
“Man, I felt really good,” McFarland said. “I’ve been making weight the right way and I’ve been training really hard and doing my privates and today just really showed that. I mean, I’ve always had that in me, beating those guys, beating them up like that, but it’s finally good to be at the right weight class and then not have to suck so much weight and I could be myself so, I felt good today; felt really good for us. And I’m proud of the team as well.”
Fellow graduate student Justin Hoyle also earned three wins at 141 pounds. Hoyle had two close matches against Duke and the Citadel where he won 2-0 and 4-2 before a dominant 15-2 major decision win against SHU.
Chase Liardi and Noah Tapia both earned wins against Duke and SHU at 133 and 149 pounds, respectively. Liardi posted an 11-2 win by major decision before falling 6-5 in a close match and working for a 4-2 win to end the day. Tapia earned a 9-2 win before being shut out for a 0-4 loss and bouncing back with a gritty performance for a 12-10 victory to close out his day.
Hofstra won six of the 10 weight classes to beat Duke including three major decisions. Their only losses came by decision. Against the Citadel, the Pride won just two matches, both by decision, and conceded one loss by technical fall and two by major decision. Hofstra turned the momentum back around against SHU, winning seven matches including three by fall, one by technical fall and one major decision, though they did concede their only loss by fall on the day.
The Pride plan to hit the road next weekend on Sunday, Nov. 24, to take on No. 5 Ohio State University. The ties between the two programs run deep as Liardi transferred to Hofstra after a season with the Buckeyes, and as Ohio head coach Tom Ryan was head coach at Hofstra for 11 years.
“I think the Citadel gave us a little bit of the forward pressure that we’re going to expect from Ohio State as well,” Franco said. “So, we’ll make some adjustments on just our cardio and our training here and our hand fight. And tell these guys it’s just one match, right? It’s one match at a time and just focus on one takedown. [The thing] I keep pushing for these guys is just get a takedown, The match will work itself out from there.”
Photos courtesy of Ethan Albin
