The Hofstra Pride wrestling team looked to get back to its winning ways on Saturday, Jan. 28, in Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) action, on the road against the United States Naval Academy (Navy) Midshipmen. The Pride, however, could not rebound from an early 15-0 deficit, ultimately losing to Navy by an overall score of 21-12.
The opening match of the day pitted Hofstra’s Jacob Moon against Navy’s Dayton DelViscio in the 125-pound weight class. It was a tough outing for Moon, as DelViscio controlled the match throughout, winning by fall after 4:19, to take an early 6-0 lead for the Midshipmen.
Navy continued its strong start in the 133-pound matchup, where the No. 31 Brendan Ferretti defeated Hofstra’s Chase Liardi by decision in a close 1-0 match, with Navy going up 9-0 overall. No. 30 Josh Koderhandt held off Hofstra’s Justin Hoyle in a 10-6 decision at 141-pounds, extending Navy’s lead to 12.
At 149-pounds, the Pride’s Michael Leandrou lost a hard-fought matchup against Navy’s Kaemen Smith, falling in a 10-5 decision. Down 15-0, the Pride desperately needed to get on the board, and they did just that, with Joe McGinty defeating Devon Deem by an 8-3 decision in the 157-pound matchup. The victory cut the Pride’s deficit to 15-3.
Both teams continued to trade match victories for the rest of the day. First, Val Park of Navy prevailed over Hofstra’s Matt Rogers via decision in the 165-pound contest, extending the Midshipmen’s advantage to 18-3. The Pride followed the match loss with a victory by Ross McFarland at 174-pounds over Sammy Starr, and Hofstra’s No. 24 Jacob Ferreira defeated ranked foe, No. 32 David Key by a 10-5 decision.
Going into the final two matches, the Midshipmen led the Pride 18-9. No. 30 Trey Rogers continued Hofstra’s hot streak by prevailing over Jake Lucas in the 197-pound bout, winning by a 6-3 decision. The win was Rogers’ fifth consecutive this season.
In the heavyweight matchup, at 285 pounds, No. 20 Grady Griess capped off the successful day with a commanding 6-0 decision over Zachary Knighton-Ward, as the Midshipmen took home the 21-12 EIWA victory.
With the loss, Hofstra dropped to 2-4 overall and 1-4 in conference play. Navy improved to 2-5 overall and evened their conference record at 1-1.
The Pride returns home on Friday, Feb. 3, where they take on the George Mason University Patriots. The matchups will kick off at 6 p.m. at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.
Photo Courtesy of Navy Sports
