By Kevin Carroll – Staff Writer
It was a valiant effort, but the Hofstra wrestling team was simply outmatched by the nationally ranked Cornell Big Red, dropping Saturdays meet by a score of 41-7.
Coming into the meet, the Pride were not expected to make much noise against a Cornell squad that currently sits at #6 in the NCAA wrestling rankings. We were expected to win two matches, on paper, and we won those two matches, remarked Hofstra head coach Dennis Papadatos after the match.
The Prides struggles showed almost immediately, as junior Jermaine John was the first Pride wrestler to take the mat, in the 134 weight class. He fell to the Big Reds Gabriel Dean at the 2:42 mark, giving Cornell a 6-0 advantage. Mike Oxley fared no better for the Pride, as the 197 pound junior lost a major decision to Cornells Jace Bennett, putting the Pride in an early 10-0 hole.
Next up on the mat was Pride heavyweight Mike Hughes, who gutted out an impressive 3-2 decision victory over Jacob Aiken-Phillips to pick up the Prides first three points. Unfortunately, the Pride failed to capitalize on the momentum generated from Hughes victory, as the Big Red rattled off twelve straight points, by virtue of a Nahshon Garrett pinfall victory at the 125 class over the Prides Bryan Damon, and a forfeit victory at the 133, to take a commanding 22-3 lead.
Hofstra standout Jamel Hudson squared off against Cornells Nick Arujau in the next bout, and after finding himself in an early hole, Hudson put on a wrestling clinic, rattling off eighteen unanswered points to win an 18-8 major decision over Arujau, and bring the score to 22-7. That was the gutsiest win Jamels ever had, said Papadatos. He was down 8-0, and won 18-8. Thats pretty impressive.
Hudsons victory would ultimately be the Prides last, as Cornell claimed wins in the final four weight classes. Cody Ruggirellos absence due to injury continued to be a huge setback for the Pride, as Alex Mirante took his place at the 149 division on Saturday, and fell, by pinfall, to the Big Reds Taylor Simaz. 157-pounder Jahlani Callender fared no better, as he ended up on the wrong end of a 12-2 major decision, bringing Cornells lead to 32-7.
It was more of the same as redshirt senior Nick Terdick fell to Cornells Dylan Palacio by pin at the 165 class. In the meets final match, Frank Affronti of the Pride put up an incredible fight against George Duke Pickett at the 174 class, but was unable to pull out a last-ditch victory, as he lost a 3-0 decision, bringing the final score to 41-7, in favor of the Big Red of Cornell.
After the match, Coach Papadatos spoke about the expectations faced when going up against a dominant team like Cornell. The second it becomes okay because theyre so much better than us, youve lost even more than the actual match. You have to get to your line in the sand.
With the loss, the Pride falls to 5-10, with a 3-4 record in the EIWA. Sixth-ranked Cornell improves to 13-1 on the year, and remains undefeated in the EIWA, with a 6-0 conference mark.
The Hofstra wrestling team heads to the City of Brotherly Love for their next match, as they look to slay the Drexel Dragons, and look to avoid black cats and broken mirrors, as they head to Philly on Friday the 13th, for a 7:00 meet at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
