The Hofstra wrestling team split their two contests on Saturday, Feb. 2, as they lost 25-18 to Columbia University and then defeated Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) 19-12 to secure their first Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) conference win of the season.
Pride freshman Dylan Ryder continued his impressive season, adding two more wins to his resume. Ryder is Hofstra’s first true freshman to win 20 matches in a season since Sage Heller won 23 in the 2016-17 season.
Ryder has now won 10 matches straight and 14 of his last 15 matches.
The day started in New York City against Columbia. Hofstra jumped out to an early lead, but then fell apart at the end and lost 25-18.
The Pride won the first three of four bouts to start the match. Omar Haddad won at 285, Ryder secured a tech fall at 125 and Garrett Lambert got his second fall of the year at 141 to give the Pride a 15-3 lead after the first four matches of the day.
Columbia would then win the next five bouts to go up 25-15 and also secure the match victory. Columbia had two falls against the Pride’s wrestlers to help them tie the match at 15, and then three wins, one by major decision, pushed them into the lead.
At 197, to end the afternoon, Nezar Haddad won his match 6-4 over Columbia’s Sam Wustefeld.
Immediately following the loss to Columbia, Hofstra made the three-hour drive from New York to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to face the Diplomats of F&M.
Against F&M, the Pride began how they normally begin by winning the first few matches of the night.
Ryder secured an 11-4 victory over Jose Diaz of F&M to kick off the match. Ryder controlled Diaz the entire match and prevented any sort of comeback.
Jacob Martin and Holden Heller also won their respective matches by decision, helping the Pride to a 9-3 lead early on. Heller’s win was his sixth in his last seven matches. Only Ryder has a longer win streak on the team.
The Pride would lose the match at 157 pounds, but at 165, Ryan Burkert did not let the loss in the match before him affect his performance. Against Crew Fullerton of F&M, Burkert dictated the match tempo throughout and used a myriad of takedowns which helped him secure a 10-2 major decision victory to help the Pride go up 14-6.
Ricky Stamm and Trey Rogers would also win their matches by decision, and even with losses at the 197 and 285 weight classes, the Pride held on to win 19-12 in their first match of EIWA play.The Pride are still on the road for EIWA play and will look to make it two straight wins as a team when they travel up north to face Sacred Heart on Saturday, Feb. 9. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. They return home Friday, Feb. 22, to face George Mason at 7 p.m. in the regular season finale.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
