By Mark Mausner — STAFF WRITER
Despite victories for juniors Michael Hughes, Jahlani Callender, and Frank Affronti, the Drexel Dragons defeated the Hofstra Pride handily on Sunday evening at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
“At the end of the day, we got beat pretty bad by a team that isn’t that good. I’m not putting them down, but I’m talking about trying to win national titles and they’re nowhere near that mark, and they beat us up,” Hofstra wrestling head coach Dennis Papadatos said after the match.
Drexel got off to a hot start, winning five of its first six matches, and never looked back. Hofstra freshman Omar Haddad was taken down by sophomore Josh Murphy at 197 pounds, losing 3-2, to give the Dragons a 3-0 lead.
Junior Michael Hughes then tied the match for the Pride with a 7-3 decision over sophomore Joey Goodhart at 285 pounds. There was a slight pause in the action during the first period of the match because Hughes had his lip cut open. The Hofstra medical staff stopped the bleeding, and the match resumed once Hughes was ready to go. With the win, Hughes moved to 32-7 overall and 6-0 in the EIWA.
The Dragons would go on to win the next four matches, including a forfeit at 133. Zachary Fuentes defeated sophomore Bryan Damon 2-1 at 125 pounds. Redshirt junior Jamel Hudson lost a 6-3 decision to Kevin Devoy of Drexel at 141 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Krasavage then lost to Matt Cimato by a 5-1 decision at 149 pounds, giving Drexel an 18-3 advantage through six matches.
Jahlani Callender put Hofstra back on the board with a 7-0 victory over freshman Mike Comunale at 157 pounds.
“He [Callender] wrestled hard and tough. It was a breath of fresh air. Hopefully he can keep that going because that’s what he is capable of,” Papadatos said.
Callender is now 13-15 on the season. Drexel’s Austin Rose then came back with a 15-0 tech fall victory over Hofstra freshman Bobby Fehr at 165 pounds to bring the score to 23-6 in the Dragons’ favor.
Hofstra got its third and final win of the day on the shoulders of Frank Affronti who posted a 6-0 decision over redshirt freshman Zach Spira at 174 pounds. It was his fourth win in his last five matches and 19th victory by decision. He is now 27-11 overall, and 13-3 in duals.
Steven Loiseau of Drexel then edged Pride sophomore Cory Damiana 7-3 at 184 pounds to secure a 26-9 victory for the Dragons.
The Pride had a pre-match ceremony to celebrate Senior Day before their match against Drexel, as it was the last home match of the season.
The team will now go on the road to take on Harvard on Friday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. and then travel to Brown University on Saturday Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. Those matches will conclude the dual match schedule as the Pride will then look ahead to the EIWA Championships at Princeton on Mar. 5-6.
“I told the guys we’re going to put in a really hard week, get ready and get it going for the last two matches that we want to win, and sprint into the postseason,” Papadatos said.
