By Bob Bonett
Continuing with the theme of the season, the Hofstra Pride’s wrestling team traveled upstate to the New York Athletic Center to face another daunting wrestling powerhouse. However, # 16 Cornell managed to solve the fifth-ranked Hofstra Pride’s attack, coming away with a close win in a match-up featuring two of the country’s best.
Shortly into the contest, it appeared as if the Big Red were on their way to cruising to a relatively easy win over one of the country’s elite. After Hofstra’s 14th-ranked 174 lb. wrestler Alton Lucas (19-8) defeated Joey Hooker 3-2, Cornell (3-5) began to start off a torrid streak, as five consecutive matches went in the Big Red’s favor.
The first of the five wins was certainly the most unlikely for Cornell. The match faced off one of the elite 184 lb. wrestlers in the country, #7 Joe Rovelli (26-5), with a relatively unknown, sub-.500 wrestler, Luke Hogle (8-9). After falling behind early to Rovelli, 2-1, Hogle came back with an impressive run, culminating in a 12-4 upset of Rovelli.
This surprising loss may have ultimately spelled doom for the rest of the match. Hofstra’s strong point throughout the season lies within their ability to win matches they should win, when their elite wrestlers face off against unranked opponents. Yet, in the important situation, Rovelli disappointingly came up short due to what Coach Tom Shifflet called “inconsistency” and “a lack of preparation.”
At 197 lbs., Cornell’s fourth-ranked Jerry Rinaldi took down #11 Chris Weidman with a 4-2 decision. The win improved Rinaldi’s mark to 14-2, while causing Weidman to fall to a still-respectable 23-6.
Next, in the heavyweight match, two unranked wrestlers dueled in a low scoring affair. Eventually, though, the Big Red’s junior, Zach Hammond (18-7), defeated Matt Pollock, who saw his season’s record fall to 11-21.
Following Pollock’s loss, Cornell sent their two marquee wrestlers to the mat. Second-ranked sophomore sensation Troy Nickerson won the 125 lb. match by forfeit, followed by third-ranked sophomore Adam Frey (11-1) defeating Pride freshman Lou Ruggirello (26-7) in quite an impressive performance with only nine seconds left, giving Cornell a nearly insurmountable 19-3 lead.
“Ruggirello is a true freshman out there, and if he can improve a little bit, he may be an All-American,” Shifflet said.
After the gutsy performance by Ruggirello, just as any of the top ten teams in the country would do, Hofstra refused to give up easily. In an extreme momentum shift, #7 Charles Griffin (24-4) took 4:18 to tally a win-by-fall over Cornell senior Matt Easter (2-3) in the 141 lb. match, scoring six crucial points for the Pride, in turn closing the deficit to 19-9.
“Everyone on our team wants to win a match,” Shifflet said. “Everyone wants to be an All-American, and whether we are down twenty or up twenty, each wrestlers will go out there to win.”
A win was not meant to be, though, for Shifflet’s pride. Cornell managed to come back strong in the following match, which featured two ranked wrestlers. Cornell’s fourth-ranked Jordan Leen (25-4) got the better of the two, tallying a 5-3 victory over Hofstra’s 14th-ranked wrestler, Mitch Smith, at 149 lbs.
Despite the win and virtual clinch for Cornell, Hofstra decided to fight for pride and end the match swinging. James Strouse, perhaps the Pride’s wrestler of the year, tallied an 8-3 decision over Cornell’s Drake Hovis (6-9). The win moved the second-ranked, 157 lb. Strouse to an outstanding 32-2 on the season.
Finally, in the 165 lb. match, Hofstra’s oft-injured superstar, Mike Patrovich, defeated Cornell’s 10th-ranked Steve Anceravage (13-3) in the 165 lb. match by pin at 3:08.
The sixth-ranked Patrovich’s win, which moved him to 12-4 on the season, was one of the many bright spots Shifflet took out of the match.
“Mike wrestled real well in the match. We think he’s getting back to the point where he tires down opponents and takes advantage of them late in the match.”
Despite the loss, Hofstra’s record still stands at 17-3-2 on the season. While rankings have not yet been released for this week, Shifflet and the crew may expect a fall from their impressive position at number five on the country. However, for a team that Shifflet believes may wrestle more often than any other team in the country, a few “hiccups” are expected, and the team just needs to bounce back.
Next up for the Pride is a home conference match against a worthy adversary in Rider University a match the Pride must not overlook, followed by a showdown in the panhandle against the 13th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.