In their last home dual meet of the season, the Hofstra University wrestling team fell to Binghamton University 31-6 on Friday, Feb. 9. Noah Tapia and Jurius Clark earned the Pride’s only wins of the night at 149 pounds and 157 pounds, respectively. The dual snapped Hofstra’s win streak and brought them to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) action while the Bearcats improved to 7-3 and 6-2 in the EIWA.
“We got our butts kicked,” said Hofstra wrestling head coach Dennis Papadatos. “They took it to us, they were more aggressive, they were on the offensive more and that bothers me more. It bothers me more and I told the guys I didn’t like that they were all over us, they were all over our legs even in matches we were winning.”
Early in his match, Tapia was taken down by Binghamton opponent, Michael Zarif, before standing up for an escape. Back on their feet, Tapia used a throw-by to get to a single leg and earn the takedown on the edge of the mat. Zarif got the escape when they restarted in the center of the mat to make it an even 4-4 going into the second period. Tapia started on top with Zarif getting an early escape. After a scramble on the mat, Tapia came out on top and got his second takedown which was quickly followed by an escape from Zarif. Going into the third period, Tapia took bottom, earning a stand-up to make the score 8-6. With time running down, Tapia got in on a single leg before switching to a double to secure yet another takedown and win 11-6. The win was Tapia’s 20th of the season, the first time the Pride has had a true freshman win 20 matches since Dylan Ryder in the 2018-19 season.
Following Tapia’s win, Clark took to the mat against Binghamton’s Fin Nadeau. After a scoreless first period, Clark started the second on top. Nadeau got an escape to earn the first point of the match with Clark following it up with an escape of his own at the start of the third period. With less than 15 seconds remaining, Nadeau took a shot with Clark responding, lifting him up and over before landing on top to earn a takedown. After a brief challenge over a possible reversal by Nadeau, Clark won 4-1.
The dual was also senior night for the Pride with Ryder, Justin Hoyle, Joe McGinty, Ericson Velasquez and Keaton Kluever all being honored. Hoyle, who has been out for most of the season due to injury, is anticipated to medically redshirt and return next season.
“We’re a young team,” Papadatos said. “Our job is to get these kids graduated and being men and grownups in the workforce, so we feel like we’re providing the world with some pretty good seniors. Obviously, they can’t have Justin Hoyle yet but the rest of them will get on with it.”
Hofstra heads to California for a set of duals against California Baptist University and California State University, Bakersfield on Saturday, Feb. 17, while Binghamton has a quick turnaround with a dual against Princeton University on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco
