Hempstead, NY - Senior Lou Ruggirello tallied his 11th pin of the year and sophomore Steve Bonanno added a major decision to lead seven Pride winners as Hofstra defeated Rider, 25-12 in a CAA contest at the Mack Sports Complex Wednesday night.

The Pride won their third straight match and the eighth in the last nine outings to improve to 12-4-1 overall and 5-1 in the CAA. Rider, which had its three match winning streak snapped, slips to 8-11 on the year including 2-3 in the CAA.

The Pride jumped out to a 10-0 lead behind 20th-ranked Bonanno (20-10) and fourth-ranked Ruggirello (24-3) as the sophomore from Wantagh tallied his 20th win of the season with a 12-3 decision over Rider freshman Chuck Zeisloft at 125. Bonanno posted a nine-point third period. Ruggirello celebrated senior night with a pin of junior Jimmy Kirchner in 1:21.

Rider closed the deficit to 10-9 as junior Aaron Nestor pinned Pride junior Vince Varela (17-11) in 5:30 at 141 pounds, and sophomore Zac Cibula tallied a 4-0 decision over red-shirt freshman Zach Clemente (12-12) at 149 pounds.

Hofstra sophomore Tyler Banks (17-14) held on to a 5-4 second period lead for the decision by the same score over red-shirt freshman Ramon Santiago at 157 pounds, and 16th-ranked junior P.J. Gillespie (22-6) recorded a takedown midway through the third period for a 3-1 decision over sophomore Jim Resnick at 165 pounds to boost the Pride lead to 16-9.

Rider senior Rob Morrison, ranked second in the CAA at 174 pounds, downed 18th-ranked Hofstra senior Ryan Patrovich (13-5), ranked first in the CAA, 6-4 in sudden victory. Morrison caught Patrovich with a takedown just four seconds into the extra period to close the score to 16-12.

But the Pride closed out the match with three straight decision victories. Junior Ben Clymer (17-8) rebounded from being bounced on his head in the first period to post a 6-5 win on the riding time point over red-shirt freshman James Brundage at 184 pounds. Freshman Matt Loew (11-21), the CAA Rookie of the Week, posted a reversal with three seconds remaining in the match to down senior Joe Ferber, 6-5 at 197 pounds. Sophomore Paul Snyder (20-14) made a first period takedown and an escape in the third stand up in a 3-1 victory over freshman Evan Craig at 285 pounds.

The Pride return to action on Saturday, February 19 when they travel to New Jersey to face the Tigers of Princeton University at 1 p.m.

Hofstra 25, Rider 12

Wt       Winning Wrestler (School)          Res                    Losing Wrestler (School)                                     Score

125      #20 Steve Bonanno (HU)  MD      Chuck Zeisloft (RU)      12 - 3

133      Lou Ruggirello (HU)          FALL   Jimmy Kirchner (RU)    (1:21)

141      Aaron Nestor (RU)            FALL   Vince Varela (HU)       5:30

149      Zac Cibula (RU)                 DEC    Zachary Clemente (HU)     4 - 0

157      Tyler Banks (HU)               DEC    Ramon Santiago (RU)  5 - 4

165      P.J. Gillespie (HU)           DEC    Jim Resnick (RU)            3 - 1

174      Rob Morrison (RU)           DEC    Ryan Patrovich (HU)     6 - 4

184      Ben Clymer (HU)               DEC    James Brundage (RU)  6 - 5

197      Matt Loew (HU)                  DEC    Joseph Ferber (RU)      6 - 5

285      Paul Snyder (HU)              DEC    Evan Craig (RU)              3 - 1

-30-