By Mark Walters
The Pride Wrestling team recently wrapped up its regular season dual match schedule with after walloping Harvard, 31-11, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The host Crimson was no match for the Pride, so much so that at the end of the match, Pride head coach Tom Shifflet sat his heavyweight, Jordan Enck, to avoid embarrassing their opponent.
”I felt at the time, that for our program, for their program, why don’t we just say there wasn’t a match. The score was already 31-11, I don’t think we needed to add another six points,” Shifflet said. “It didn’t have any implications in helping Jordan at all.”
By the time Enck would have taken the mat, Hofstra had already won once by forfeit, three times by fall, and once by major decision.
At 125, Steve Bonanno’s win by forfeit preceded Lou Ruggirello’s pin over Tommy Picarsic at 1:08 and Justin Accordino’s pin over Johnny Motley at 2:05. The following two bouts did not favor the visitors however, as Jeff Rotella fell to Harvard’s Walter Peppelman, 17-0, at 149 and JP O’Connor decided Fran O’Brien, 8-1.
Ryan Patrovich got the Pride back in the driver’s seat with his 17-6 major decision over the Crimsons Michael Sadler at 165. It was Patrovich’s fourth major decision of the season. Alton Lucas improved the Pride lead to 25-8 at 174 with his 7-3 win over Andy Olsen.
Harvard’s Louis Caputo decided freshman Ben Clymer 6-2 at 184 for the home team’s final win of the match. At 197 Joe Fagiano pinned Patrick Ziemnik at 4:02. The pin was Fagiano’s third of the season, and preceded the double forfeit at 285. Hofstra finished its regular dual season with a record of 10-6 while Harvard fell to 4-11.
The Pride is idle this weekend as the team prepares to head to Chesapeake, Virginia, to defend their CAA Title. The match will be held March 6-7 at Oscar Smith High School. ?
Wrestling Notes
Bonilla-Bowman’s Progress
Jonny Bonilla-Bowman is getting better, and while he may not be 100 percent, he should be for the CAA championships next week.
“He’s not full-go yet, but I think that’s more mental than physical,” Shifflet said. He added that his 157-pounder is drilling real hard and putting in some great conditioning workouts.
Fagiano Gains
After missing several matches earlier this winter, sophomore Joe Fagiano has been getting back into the swing of things, but has been a bit shaky in his return to the mat.
“With him, it’s confidence,” Shifflet said. “He’s concerned about his conditioning; he’s concerned about all different aspects of his matches.”
Shifflet said the next week is about mentally preparing his 197-pounder for the conference championships.
“It’s gonna be a competitive weight, and he knows that. I think he’s putting a lot of pressure on himself right now and that’s really taken away from how he’s competed the last three weeks.”
Accordino Earns CAA Acclaim
For the week of February 10-16, 141-pounder Justin Accordino was named the CAA’s Rookie of the Week.
Accordino won both of his matches last week including a fall in a mere 40seconds against Buffalo’s Mark Lewandowski. He also defeated Edinboro’s Steve Wait, 9-4, the day before pinning Lewandowski.