Hempstead, NY – Hofstra Head Wrestling Coach Dennis Papadatos today announced his 17-match, 2014-15 schedule which includes seven matches against opponents who finished in the top 20 at the 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City, OK last March.

After a preview of the 2014-15 Pride at wrestle-offs on Wednesday evening, October 22 at 7 p.m., the 2014-15 season begins 11 days later with the first of five home matches on the season on Sunday, November 2 against Lock Haven. Match time at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Center is 2:30 p.m.

After the season opener, Hofstra heads out on the road until January for eight matches and three tournaments. The Pride will head to Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) opponent Lehigh, which placed 18th in the 2014 NCAA Championships, on Thursday, November 6, and new Big 10 member Rutgers on Sunday, November 16.

Hofstra will travel to Cornell University in Ithaca, NY for the New York State Collegiate Championship on Sunday, November 23. The Pride placed second, to the Big Red, in last year's State Championship. Hofstra returns upstate on Thanksgiving weekend when they compete in the 12th annual Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY on Saturday, November 29. Hofstra is scheduled to face Missouri, which placed 14th in the NCAA Championships, North Carolina State, which finished 19th at nationals, and EIWA opponent Sacred Heart in the Northeast Duals.

The month of December brings Hofstra to three big events in the Cliff Keen-Las Vegas (CKLV) Invitational on Friday and Saturday, December 5-6. The CKLV Invitational is one of the top three regular season tournaments in the country. After Las Vegas, Hofstra returns to the metropolitan area for the third annual Grapple at the Garden on Sunday, December 21. The Pride will face Maryland, which finished 20th in the 2014 NCAA Championships, at 10 a.m. and EIWA opponent Bucknell at noon in Madison Square Garden, the World's Most Famous Arena. Madison Square Garden will serve as host for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Hofstra wraps up the 2014 portion of their schedule on Monday, December 29 at the Lock Haven Invitational.

The 2015 part of the Pride schedule brings nine dual matches leading up to the EIWA Championships in early March. January kicks off with an EIWA match at Princeton on Friday, January 9 before Hofstra returns home to the Mack Sports Complex on Sunday, January 11 against Oklahoma, which finished 10th in last year's nationals. Match time is 1 p.m.

The Pride will next face another EIWA foe in Binghamton at the New York Athletic Club in midtown Manhattan on Friday, January 16 at 6:30 p.m. Nine days later, Hofstra will travel back into Manhattan to Columbia University on Sunday, January 25 for EIWA matches against American and Columbia.

Hofstra will have three home matches and one road contest in February beginning with a non-conference, home match against Rider on Sunday, February 1 at the Mack Sports Complex. Match time is 1 p.m. The Pride will then host defending EIWA champions Cornell, which placed seventh in the 2014 NCAA Championships, on Saturday, February 7 in the David S. Mack Physical Education Center.

The Pride head out to Philadelphia on Friday, February 13 for a match against EIWA rival Drexel. Hofstra returns to Long Island to close out the regular season on Sunday, February 22 at noon against Virginia Tech in the Mack Physical Education Center. The Hokies finished eighth in the 2014 NCAA Championships.

The EIWA Championships are scheduled for March 6-7 at Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. The 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO from March 19-21.