Pride junior Jonny Bonilla-Bowman tallied a major decision but second-ranked Buckeye Reece Humphrey and 12th-ranked J. Jaggers posted decisions in the final two matches of the day to break a 13-13 tie and lead #5 Ohio State to a 19-13 victory over #20 Hofstra at the David S. Mack Sports Complex Sunday afternoon. The Buckeyes improved to 9-1 on the season while Hofstra falls to 7-3.
On his first return to Hofstra since leaving the Pride in 2006 after 11 seasons as head coach, Ohio State coach Tom Ryan and his family were honored at halftime with the official announcement that Hofstra's soon-to-renovated and upgraded facility would be named the Teague Ryan Wrestling Complex, in memory of his son who passed away at age five in 2004. Hofstra also honored the family of FDNY Chief Ray Downey with the naming of the Pride wrestling room in his memory, and the family of Rudy Fiorvanti with the naming of their new strength and conditioning room in his memory. Downey died on September 11, 2001 in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center while Fiorvanti was a three-sport athlete and team captain for the Pride in the early 1970s.
In a see-saw battle throughout Ohio State's fourth-ranked junior Lance Palmer (16-2) made a first period takedown and a reversal in the second stand up on the way to a 5-0 victory over Pride freshman P.J. Gillespie (16-13) at 149 pounds. Hofstra's unranked junior Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (16-6) wore out OSU's 15th-ranked Jason Johnstone (17-7) for a 15-6 major decision at 157 pounds to give the Pride a 4-3 lead. But the Buckeyes came right back behind fourth-ranked sophomore Colt Sponseller (21-3), who posted a third period escape and the riding time point for a 2-0 victory over the Pride's 20th-ranked sophomore Ryan Patrovich (13-5) at 165 pounds to take a 6-4 lead.
The Pride regained the lead at 174 pounds as 11th-ranked senior Alton Lucas (17-4) took a 2-1 lead into the third period on the way to a 6-2 victory over junior Dave Rella (13-8). Hofstra wrestled up its usual 184-pounder Ben Clymer and sent senior Anthony Tortora (14-12) up against OSU's defending national champion, junior Mike Pucillo (8-0). Tortora battled valiantly before Pucillo posted a 16-4 major decision to give the Buckeyes a 10-7 lead in the match. The weight switch helped the Pride as the freshman Clymer (16-7) tallied an escape in the third period to post a 3-2 decision over freshman Cody Gardner (13-9) at 197 pounds and tie the match at 10-10.
At 285 pounds, OSU senior Corey Morrison (15-8) posted a takedown with less than a minute remaining to break a 4-4 tie and held on for a 6-5 victory over Pride freshman Jordan Enck (14-13) and a 13-10 lead in the match. But Pride freshman Steve Bonanno (23-9) tied the match, rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the third to post a three-point and a two-point near fall on the way to a 5-2 victory over sophomore Nikko Triggas (16-9).
In a battle of top 10 wrestlers at 133 pounds, Ohio State's second-ranked junior Reece Humphrey improved to 19-0 on the year with a late flurry to down Hofstra's ninth-ranked junior Lou Ruggirello (19-3), 7-3, and give the Buckeyes a 16-13 lead in the match. Hofstra freshman Justin Accordino (15-9) needed a decision to tie the match and a major decision or better to win it for the Pride but had to do it against defending national champion J. Jaggers at 141 pounds in the match finale. Accordino led 3-2 late in the match before Jaggers tallied a takedown in the final 40 seconds and added a riding time point for a 5-2 win and a 19-16 victory in the match.
The Pride will return to action next Saturday, January 31st in Philadelphia, PA when they face Pennsylvania at 1 p.m. and Drexel at 4 p.m. in dual matches.
#5 Ohio State (19), #20 Hofstra (13)
149- #4 Lance Palmer (OS) dec. P.J. Gillespie (H), 5-0
157- Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (H) maj. dec. Jason Johnstone (OS), 15-6
165- #4 Colt Sponseller (OS) dec. #20 Ryan Patrovich (H), 2-0
174- #11 Alton Lucas (H) dec. Dave Rella (OS), 6-2
184- #2 Mike Pucillo (OS) maj. dec. Anthony Tortora (H), 16-4
197- Ben Clymer (H) dec. Cody Gardner (OS), 3-2
285- #17 Corey Morrison (OS) dec. Jordan Enck (H), 6-5
125- Steve Bonanno (H) dec. Nikko Triggas (OS), 5-2
133- #2 Reece Humphrey (OS) dec. #9 Lou Ruggirello (H), 7-4
141- #12 J. Jaggers (OS) dec. Justin Accordino (H), 5-3
Att: 2,118
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