By Mark Walters
With a big upset win at Penn State, the Pride wrestling team found itself ranked 16th, after from receiving votes in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I rankings. They next travelled to Columbia, Missouri, where they fell to the 5th-ranked Tigers 22-12.
Hofstra scored its only 12 points in the first three matches, as Steve Bonanno beat Troy Dolan 8-2 at 125, Lou Ruggirello pinned Todd Schavrien in 51 seconds at 133, and Justin Accordino decided Marcus Hoehn 5-1 at 141. The Pride dropped the next seven matches, including losses to the 7th-ranked wrestler at 157, the 2nd-ranked wrestler at 165, the 3rd-ranked wrestler at 174, and the 5th-ranked wrestler at 197.
The next day saw the Pride compete in the Missouri Open. Nine Pride wrestlers placed in the top five of their respective weight classes, including two champions and four finalists.
Joe Fagiano won the 197-pound open division title, and freshman Jordan Enck won the 285-pound championship. Ruggirello placed second when he lost to Ray Stevens-ranked 2nd in NAIA-of Lindenwood, 4-2, in the final. Ryan Patrovich went 3-1 in the open’s 165-pound division. He lost to Roger Bersrud-Smith from Illinois in the final. Alton Lucas also finished second, losing to Raymond Jordan of Missouri, a familiar foe that Lucas faced the day before. Freshman Ben Clymer rounded out the finalists for the Pride. He went 3-1 at 184, losing to Missouri’s Brent Haynes 5-0.
Despite winning more than any other Pride grappler, PJ Gillespie placed third in the 149-pound freshman/sophomore division. Justin Accordino was 3-2 in the open division and finished fourth. Steve Bonanno placed fifth in the open, improving to 9-5 on the year. Jonny Bonilla-Bowman posted a 1-2 record in the open division and failed to place.
Over the holiday weekend, three Pride wrestlers represented Hofstra at the Mat Town Open at Lock Haven University in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Clymer captured the title at 185 while classmate Steve Bonanno was third at 125. Clymer defeated Pittsburgh’s Brock Mantella in the championship round. Bonanno lost to 2008 NCAA Championships third place finisher Paul Donahoe from Edinboro in the first round. He beat Joey Langel from Rutgers 8-5 in the third-place match. Jordan Enck was winless in the tournament.
Hofstra next meets the Bearcats from Binghamton Friday December 12 at 7 pm at the Mack.