By Mike Rudin – Sports Editor
The dual meet between the Hofstra Pride and the Rider Broncs came down to the wire with the final match deciding the ultimate result, but Hofstra faltered with a 21-15 final score, dropping them to 5-9 on the season.
“We wrestled with effort but we’re still not wrestling with inspiration, there’s a big difference. At no point I think we didn’t try but [if] you want the crowds fired up, you want your teammates fired up, you want God fired up then you got to go,” said head coach Dennis Papadatos.
The Pride started out fighting an uphill battle, losing the first two matchups and slipped to an 0-6 start in the meet. Jahani Callender was the first for the Pride to compete in the 157-weight division. Despite valiant effort, Callender couldn’t muster up the strength against Rider wrestler Chad Walsh and lost by a thread in a 5-4 decision.
“He keeps not capitalizing on big opportunities,” said Papadatos. “He’s right there… it’s not technique, he doesn’t have a bad attitude. He just needs that little light switch in his head. When that light switch goes on, he’s scary and when it doesn’t go off we get good results and not great results. So he’s got to find a way to turn on that light switch.”
Nick Terdick tried to turn things around in his match against Connor Brennan but with no luck after a falling to a 5-1 deficit in the middle of the second period put him in a bind. Eventually, Terdick lost the 165-weight division with a 10-6 decision, putting all of the momentum against Hofstra.
Yet, the Pride flipped their luck and strung together back-to-back wins that tied the meet at 6-6. Frank Affronti sparked the six-point streak with his matchup in the 174-weight division. After a standstill in the first period, the 5-foot-10 sophomore Affronti managed to not let Nelson score a single point with a 4-0 shutout decision. His victory marked the first for the Pride on the day and helped Hofstra get on the board, and within three points.
Jermaine John walked on the mat after Affronti’s win and continued the winning trend against the Broncs’ Ali Yildiz with three two-point takedowns to win with a 10-5 decision. John pushed the Pride to tie Rider following the 184-pound division
Mike Oxley came up next in the fifth round to face-off against Rider wrestler Donald McNeil but Oxley couldn’t continue the streak and fell in a 12-6 decision. Oxley struggled mightily in the first period with three two-point takedowns from the hands of McNeil.
With Hofstra down by three points for the second time, Mike Hughes stepped into the circle and took control against Greg Velasco with a 5-1 final decision – in similar fashion to John’s match. Two-point takedowns were Hughes’ main source of scoring with one early in the first and one in the third to secure the win.
Bryan Damon made his way on the mat and continued the work Hughes left off with a 6-5 decision to win the 125-pound matchup and give Hofstra a three-point lead. Rider wrestler Zach Valcarce made a bid to win the round with all five points scored in the third period, but a pair of one-point escapes helped Damon cling to the win.
It took the Pride strength and diligence – winning the previous four out of five rounds – to get the lead, but in an instant it vanished due to a forfeit in the eighth round. Cody Ruggirello did not compete due to injury, thus costing the Pride six points and handing over the lead to Rider.
“Travis got a concussion, it’s not like he’s faking, he can’t wrestle,” said Papadatos. “Cody’s banged up and Cody would’ve wrestled if he could’ve.”
Jamel Hudson came in with the Pride needing a clutch win in the ninth round for any hopes of coming out on top in the dual meet, and Hudson executed that task with flying colors.
Jamel Hudson relentlessly went after his opponent and with a trio of two-point takedowns, Hudson won the 141-weight round in an 8-2 final decision.
Hudson’s win tied the meet at 15-15 and it set up the stage for the final round to determine which team would be the victor.
The last match featured Hofstra’s Alex Mirante and Rider wrestler Bryant Clagon in the 149-weight division.
The Broncs’ wrestler quickly killed any sort of chance for Hofstra to win the meet. In the first period alone Clagon produced four two-point takedowns. Mirante managed to pull off three one-point escapes to stay alive for a little while, but eventually Clagon crushed Mirante with a tech fall at 4:09 in the final matchup.
“That kid is ranked No. 12 in the country and Alex has one win in his career. Alex does his job, he’s a great workout partner, great teammate, everybody loves Alex” said Papadatos. “But when it comes down to getting a win [in the meet] that’s not what he’s here for. I’m glad he made weight and steps up so we didn’t have to forfeit.”
The loss granted six points to Rider University as well as the overall meet victory. Rider improved to 10-6 after the meet.
The next dual meet for the Pride will take place at home against Cornell University on Feb. 7 at 12:00 p.m. Cornell has put themselves at the top of the EIWA with a 12-1 overall record, and an unblemished 4-0 mark in conference.
