Hempstead, NY - Hofstra sophomore P.J. Gillespie (Long Beach, NY) upset Penn's #19 Gabriel Burak (Colorado Springs, CO) at 165 pounds, but Penn won six of the eight contested weight classes and posted a 31-12 victory over the Pride Sunday afternoon at the David S Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The Quakers (6-4) won their second consecutive dual match, while Hofstra falls to 5-8-2 with their second straight loss.

The Pride sported a new line-up on Sunday that featured three wrestlers who made either their dual match or season debut in a new weight class. Freshman Luke Vaith  (Hastings, MN) moved from 141 to 133, junior Jeff Rotella (West Windsor, NJ) moved from 133 to 149, and red-shirt freshman Pat Murphy (Nazareth, PA) made his season debut at 197 pounds.

18th-ranked Micah Burak (Colorado Springs, CO) started the match with a win by fall over Murphy at 197 pounds. Burak built a 6-2 lead in the first period before pinning Murphy at the 2:20 mark. Following a Hofstra forfeit at heavyweight, Penn's Mark Rappo (Holland, PA) posted a major decision (12-4) over freshman Jamie Franco (Monroe, NY) at 125 pounds. Brian Ortenzio (Camp Hill, PA) followed with a 7-1 decision over Vaith for a 19-0 advantage.

Penn extended their match lead to 22-0 as Zack Kemmerer (East Greenville, PA) posted a 4-1 decision over red-shirt freshman Tyler Banks (Griswold, CT) at 141 pounds, using a third period takedown to extend his lead to 4-1 and negate Banks' riding time advantage. The Quakers went ahead 26-0 after #9 Cesar Grajales (Brandon, FL) recorded a major decision (13-3) over Rotella (West Windsor, NJ) at 149 pounds.

Hofstra got on the board at 157 pounds due to Penn forfeiting the weight class. The 165-pound match between Gillespie and Burak was the most competitive of the day as the two entered the third period tied at 2-2. Gillespie used an escape with 30 seconds to go to post a 3-2 decision and make the match score 26-9 in favor of Penn.

The Quakers rebounded at 174 pounds as 20th-ranked Scott Giffin (Berlin, NJ) scored a technical fall over senior Jonathan Rothman (Bridgewater, NJ) at the 4:02 mark. But Hofstra prevailed in the final match of the afternoon as senior Anthony Tortora (Chappaqua, NY) recorded a 6-2 decision over Penn's Cory Beaver (Gettysburg, PA) at 184 pounds.

Hofstra returns to action next Saturday when it travels to Binghamton and Cornell. The Pride will face Binghamton at Noon and Cornell at 5 p.m.

Box Score

Weight            
197-#18 Micah Burak (Penn) wins by fall over Pat Murphy (HU), 2:20         
Hwt.-Tyler Blakely (Penn) wins by forfeit    
125-Mark Rappo (Penn) maj. dec. Jamie Franco (HU), 12-4
133-Brian Ortenzio (Penn) dec. Luke Vaith (HU), 7-1 
141-Zack Kemmerer (Penn) dec. Tyler Banks (HU), 4-1
149-#9 Cesar Grajales (Penn)maj. dec.  Jeff Rotella (HU), 13-3
157-#16 Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (HU) wins by forfeit
165-P.J. Gillespie (HU)dec. #19 Gabriel Burak (Penn), 3-2
174-#20 Scott Giffin (Penn) tech fall Jon Rothman (HU), 4:02
184-Anthony Tortora (HU)dec. Cory Beaver (Penn), 6-2