Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Wrestling team returns to competition for the first time since December 5 when the Pride compete in the nine-team, one-day Lock Haven Classic on Tuesday, December 29 at the Thomas Fieldhouse on the Lock Haven campus.

The nine team field includes Binghamton, Bucknell, Clarion, George Mason, Hofstra, Indiana, Kent State, Messiah and the host Bald Eagles of Lock Haven, starts competition at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Tournament brackets will be available on Tuesday morning at http://www.GoLHU.com
 
Last season, ten Pride wrestlers placed in the top five of their respective weight classes, including four who captured individual titles, as Hofstra captured the First Citizens Community Bank-Lock Haven University Invitational Tournament at the Thomas Fieldhouse.

Hofstra, behind first-place finishes by Bryan Damon at 125, Jamel Hudson at 141 and Jahlani Callender at 157 and Cody Ruggirello at 149, finished with 154 points to lead the nine-team field. Host Lock Haven was second with 136.5 points while Clarion was third with 83. Franklin and Marshall (63.5) and Bucknell (57.5) rounded out the top five. The Lock Haven Invitational team title was the Pride's first tournament victory since winning the Colonial Athletic Association Championship in 2013.

Two Hofstra wrestlers, Frank Affronti at 174 and Michael Hughes at 285, each placed second last year. Affronti was 3-1 in the tournament while Hughes was 2-1 on the day. Senior Nick Terdick placed fourth at 165 pounds, with a 3-2 record.

Hofstra is 0-5 in dual matches including a 0-1 mark in the EIWA. The Lock Haven Classic allows teams to utilize all their wrestlers with the highest finishing athletes accumulating the team points. Thus, the Pride will be wrestling all of their healthy grapplers.
 
Hofstra has three wrestlers ranked in the latest individual polls, as of December 22. Leading the Pride is junior Jamel Hudson, who is ranked in three of the polls. Hudson, who is 8-3 on the season, is ranked 16th by WIN Magazine and The Open Mat and 19th by The Wrestling Report. He is coming off a 4-2 tournament at the Cliff Keen-Las Vegas Invitational.

Junior Michael Hughes, who is 16-4 on the year at 285 pounds, enters the Lock Haven Invitational with two tournament titles already this season with the Binghamton Open and the New York State Championship under his belt. He is ranked 17th by the Open Mat and 23rd by The Wrestling Report.

Fellow junior Frank Affronti, who is 16-6 at 174 pounds, received his first national ranking earlier this month and is now ranked 28th in The Wrestling Report. Redshirt-sophomore Kyle Krasavage at 149 and senior Marcus Begay at 133 are expected to make their 2015-16 debuts at Lock Haven on Tuesday.

Following the Lock Haven Classic, Hofstra will open its home schedule with a tri-match at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center on Sunday, January 3. VMI and Bloomsburg will meet at 1 p.m., Hofstra and VMI will square off at 3 p.m. and Hofstra and Bloomsburg will face each other at 5 p.m.