Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Pride Wrestling team returns to dual meet action this Saturday, January 8 when they host the Tar Heels of North Carolina at the David S. Mack Sports Complex. Match time is 1 p.m.

Hofstra is coming off a ninth-place finish in the 34-team Southern Scuffle on December 29-30 at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center. Senior Lou Ruggirello placed second at 133 pounds, losing to Penn's Rollie Peterkin, 6-0 in the final while junior P.J. Gillespie placed fourth at 165 pounds. Junior Vince Varela made it through to the quarterfinals before being stopped by top-ranked Kellen Russell from Michigan. The Pride finished with 65.5 points just 10.5 points out of sixth place.

The Hofstra effort was hampered by injuries to senior Ryan Patrovich at 174 pounds and redshirt sophomore Justin Accordino at 149 pounds. Patrovich, who is expected to weigh-in against North Carolina this weekend, wrestled in just two matches-both wins-before withdrawing from the tournament. Accordino, who is rehabbing the injury in the hopes of returning later this season, wrestled one complete match-a win-before taking a medical default loss in the second contest and withdrawing.

Despite a top-third finish at the Southern Scuffle, the Pride slipped out of the top 25 in each of the four polls that included them last week. But Hofstra still has six wrestlers ranked this week by the five polls. Leading the Pride is Ruggirello, who is ranked fifth by InterMat, Division I College Wrestling (DICW), and Amateur Wrestling News (AWN), sixth by the Wrestling Report (TWR) and eighth by WIN magazine. Ruggirello is 14-3.

Gillespie, who is 13-4 on the year, is ranked 11th by TWR and WIN, and 12th by InterMat, DICW and AWN at 165 pounds. Patrovich, who is 9-3 in 2010-11, is ranked 14th by WIN and 15th by InterMat and AWN at 174 pounds. Sophomore Steve Bonanno, who is 11-7 at 125 pounds, is ranked 18th by TWR and 20th by InterMat and DICW. Junior Vince Varela, who is 10-8 on the year and went 3-2 at the Southern Scuffle, is ranked 17th by AWN, 20th by InterMat and TWR and 22nd by DICW. Junior Ben Clymer, who also went 3-2 at the Scuffle and is now 5-5 on the season, is ranked 33rd by TWR.

North Carolina comes to Long Island with a 4-2 dual match record although they haven't wrestled a dual since November 21. The Tar Heels have victories over Drexel (46-0), Lock Haven (19-16), Chattanooga (21-18) and UNC Greensboro (23-17). Their losses have come against Kent State (25-10) and Wisconsin (27-3). Like the Pride, North Carolina also competed at the Southern Scuffle and placed 16th with 42.5 points. Wrestlers from the two teams squared off against each other three times at the Scuffle with the Pride winning two of the three. Steve Bonanno defeated Jake Corrill by fall in 4:31 at 125 pounds while Lou Ruggirello pinned Brock Livorio in 2:33 at 133 pounds. UNC senior Danny Lopes pinned Pride sophomore Luke Vaith in 1:21 at 141 pounds.

The Tar Heels have seven wrestlers currently ranked led by 165-pound senior Thomas Scotton (21-8), who is placed 14th by WIN and 27th by TWR. Senior Mike Rappo (6-2) is ranked 19th by AWN at 133 pounds. Freshman Andre Petroski (14-9) is ranked 28th at 174 pounds by TWR. Freshmen Corey Mock (23-10 at 157) and Antonio Giorgio (12-9 at 184) are ranked 29th by TWR. Redshirt freshman Zac Bennett (14-9) is ranked 32nd by TWR at 197 pounds while Lopes (19-9) is ranked 33rd by TWR at 141 pounds.

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