Las Vegas, NV – Hofstra juniors Jamel Hudson, Frank Affronti and Michael Hughes remain alive in the wrestlebacks after the first day of the 34th annual Cliff Keen-Las Vegas Invitational at the Cashman Center Friday night.

Session three on Saturday begins at noon (ET) with the fifth round of consolations followed by the championship semifinals, consolation semifinals and consolation placing matches for fifth and sixth and seventh and eighth places.  The championship finals as well as placing matches for third and fourth places will be held on Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. (ET).

As a team, the Pride is tied for 27th with 18 points in the tournament that is led by seventh-ranked Oklahoma with 85 points. Eighth-ranked Missouri is second with 81.5 points while 18th-ranked Minnesota is third with 78.5 points. Cornell (69.0) and Virginia Tech (58.5) round out the top five in the team standings.

Jamel Hudson, the fourth seed at 141, posted a 3-1 mark in Friday's first session and 1-0 in session two to advance to day two. Hudson opened with an 11-4 win over Nebraska-Kearney's James Bamford before being pinned by Virginia's Emilio Martinez at the 2:06 mark of the second round. He then bounced back to pin Northern Idaho's Jordan Hall in 1:20 and majored West Virginia's Tony DeAngelo, 10-2 in the consolations.  In the night session, Hudson majored Columbia's Joe Moita, 16-4. Hudson is now 8-2 on the year heading into Saturday's afternoon's session three. He will face Bucknell's ninth-seed Tyler Smith in his first match on Saturday.

Frank Affronti, the 10th seed at 174, was 2-1 in the afternoon's first session and 1-0 in the second session. He opened with a hard-fought 6-5 victory over Purdue's Jacob Morrissey before falling to Wisconsin's seventh-seed and 18th-ranked grappler Ricky Robertson, 7-6 in the round of 16. Affronti rebounded with a 6-4 victory over California Baptist's Christian Smith in the wrestlebacks. Affronti added a 6-0 victory over Northern Iowa's Drew Foster Friday night to advance to day two. He is now 16-5 on the season. Affronti will face Army West Point's eighth seed Brian Harvey in his first match on Saturday.

Michael Hughes, the 6th seed at 285, was also 2-1 in the first session and 1-0 in the evening session for the Pride. He opened with a 6-1 victory over Purdue's Tyler Kral before being upset in the round of 16 by the 11th seed Tanner Hall from Arizona State. Hughes advanced to Friday night session with a 3-1 victory over Air Force's Marcus Malecek in the wrestlebacks. He then posted a 7-0 victory over West Virginia's Anthony Vizcarrondo Friday night to advance to Saturday. Hughes is now 16-3 on the season.  He will meet Ohio State's fifth seed and 18th-ranked Nick Tavanello in his first match on Saturday.

Two other Hofstra wrestlers posted individual victories in session one Friday before being eliminated from the tournament. Sophomore Bryan Damon opened with an impressive 11-2 major decision over Army West Point's Sean Badua at 125 pounds. But Damon was sent to the wrestlebacks after being pinned by the fourth-seed and seventh-ranked Dylan Peters from Northern Iowa at the 1:33 mark in the round of 16. He would be knocked out of the tournament later in a 4-2 loss to Binghamton's Thierno Diallo. Damon is 8-11 on the season.

Freshman Omar Haddad made his CKLV debut at 197 with a 6-5 victory over Newberry's Cody Brundage. Haddad was then majored by Minnesota's third-seed and sixth-ranked wrestler Brett Pfarr, 16-2 in the round of 16. Haddad was then knocked out of the tournament by Purdue's Drake Stein by medical default near the end of their wrestleback match. He is now 5-11 this year.

Four Hofstra wrestlers were knocked out of the tournament with consecutive losses Friday afternoon. Freshman Ryan Burkert (4-6) was majored by Cornell's Joe Galasso and suffered a 2-1 loss in the wrestlebacks to Utah Valley's Matthew Ontiveros at 149 pounds. Junior Jahlani Callender (10-9) dropped a 4-0 decision to the 12th seed Oliver Pierce from Arizona State before being knocked out of the tournament by Cal State Bakersfield's Andrew Fierro, 4-2 in the 157-pound wrestlebacks. Redshirt freshman Bobby Fehr (1-9) suffered two major decision losses Friday, losing to Cornell's fourth-seed and 11th-ranked George "Duke" Pickett, 13-2 in the championship round and North Dakota State's Tyler McNutt, 17-8 in the 165-pound wrestlebacks. Sophomore Cory Damiana (6-10) dropped a 5-1 decision to Northern Colorado's Dylan Gabel in the championship round before falling to Air Force's Anthony McLaughlin, 6-5 in the 165-pound wrestlebacks.