On Saturday, Feb. 18, the Hofstra Pride wrestling team won in their final dual of the season, 21-15 against California Baptist University (Cal Baptist).
“We’ll take it,” said Hofstra head coach Dennis Papadatos. “Not our best, but a good gritty performance”.
Much of the “grit” came from members of the Pride who were filling in for others due to illness. Ericson Velasquez notably filled in at 184 pounds for No. 26 Jacob Ferreira. Joe McGinty moved down to 157 pounds with Eric Shindel filling 165 pounds, with Matt Rogers also out.
McGinty faced Joseph Mora in the first match of the day, winning 6-1. Ross McFarland earned the next win at 174 pounds, winning 6-3 over Louis Rojas. At 197 pounds, No. 29 Trey Rogers earned his tenth consecutive win, beating Caden Gerlach 13-3. Rogers picked up the pace in the third period where he earned 6 of his points.
At 285 pounds, Zachary Knighton-Ward battled Christopher Island. Knighton-Ward was already ahead during the match before in the last ten seconds, he got double underhooks and took Island straight to his back to earn a takedown and back points, winning in a major decision, 9-1.
Moving back to the lowest weight class, 125 pounds, Jacob Moon faced Devin Garcia. Moon, who was also sick earlier this week, rode Garcia out for the whole second period to secure his 7-2 win.
In the last win of the day, Justin Hoyle, another member of the team mentioned to be a little “beaten up”, took on Christian Nunez. The action of the match peaked toward the end of the first period when Hoyle got double underhooks and used an outside trip to bring Nunez to his back, putting him at a 7-2 advantage. Hoyle then continued to work until he earned a 17-4 major decision victory.
The Pride continued to demonstrate toughness even in the matches where they lost. Chase Liardi battled against Hunter Leake, losing 6-0, though the match appeared much more even. Both wrestlers attempted many shots that were met by the other’s solid defense, and there were many scramble situations where a stalemate was called. Velasquez, who competed in his first college dual meet, showed tremendous effort despite losing 11-2, fighting off a single to the point that he went into the splits multiple times.
The Pride ended the season with a record of 5-6 in dual meets. This was the first time Hofstra faced Cal Baptist, and their first win over a Big 12 school since Nov. 21, 2019, when they beat the Air Force Academy. The team’s next competition will be the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) championships from Mar. 4-5, at the University of Pennsylvania.
Graduating seniors, Mario Biancamano, Brinton Simington, Ferreira, Rogers, Knighton-Ward, and Ben Somerville were honored at the dual meet. Papadatos had good things to say about all of the seniors, showing his appreciation for what these groups of men have meant to the program.
“Guys like Trey [Rogers] and Zach [Knighton-Ward], they’ve been here for most of my tenure, right, I mean they were a part of my first real recruiting class,” Papadatos said. “We appreciate Jacob [Ferreira] for coming in and being a real trooper, and we had high expectations for Brinton [Simington], but he got hurt at the Army invite and there was a good chance he would’ve been our 165-pound starter. And Ben [Somerville] and Mario [Biancamano], they’re the best, I mean I have a crush on Mario he’s my little buddy I love him, and Ben is quiet, does everything we ask, 4.0, just got into George Washington law school, he’s going to be successful alumni. They’re great kids and we’re excited to put them out into the world.”
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Evan Bernstein
