Brookville, NY – Sophomore Ryan Burkert was one of three Pride wrestlers with two victories on the day as Hofstra (3-3) split two matches at the LIU Post Duals at the Pratt Recreation Center Sunday afternoon. The Pride dropped a 31-10 decision to the Blue Devils of Duke in their opener before rebounding for a 34-15 win over the Warriors of East Stroudsburg in the nightcap.

In the first match of the day against Duke, the Blue Devils won the first three matches of the contest including a pin by Cole Baumgartner at 133 to build a 13-0 lead on the way to the 31-10 win. Ryan Burkert gave the Pride their first points in the contest with a 13-4 major decision over Xaviel Ramos at 149 to cut the deficit to 13-4. But Hofstra was only able to muster an 11-7 victory by sophomore Bobby Fehr over Michael Wright at 165, and a 5-4 decision by Nezar Haddad over Luke Farinaro at 197 the rest of the way as Duke rolled to the victory.

In the second match against East Stroudsburg, the Pride had a battle on their hands in the early going. The Warriors took a 3-0 lead as John Pellegrino edged Hofstra's Jacob Martin at 125. The Pride took a 4-3 lead at 133 when Vinny Vespa recorded an 11-0 major decision over Connor Maliff. But ESU regained the lead at 141 when Dylan Nace pinned Connor Burkert at the 1:45 mark to take a 9-5 advantage.

Ryan Burkert tied the match at 9-9 at 149 when he recorded a 17-0 technical fall over Blake Cohen. Pride red-shirt freshman Jake Kaminsky gave Hofstra the lead for good with a 6-4 decision over Joey Kratochvil at 157. That win was followed by forfeit victories for Fehr at 165 and Sage Heller at 174 as Hofstra took a 24-9 advantage. ESU's Tyler Richardson posted a win by fall over Hofstra's Michael Oxley at 184 to close the deficit to 24-15. But Hofstra's Haddad brothers sealed the victory with consecutive wins as Nezar tallied a 12-3 major decision over Brandon Steele at 197 and Omar pinned Daniel Makagon at the 2:24 mark of the 285 match for his second pin of the year.

The Pride return to action on Friday, January 15 when they travel to Fairfield, Connecticut to face the Pioneers of Sacred Heart in an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) match at 7 p.m.

Duke 31, Hofstra 10
125- Thayer Atkins (DU) maj. dec. Jacob Martin (HU), 4-0
133- Cole Baumgartner (DU) WBF Vinny Vespa (HU), 5:38
141- Zach Finesilver (DU) dec. Connor Burkert (HU), 7-3
149- Ryan Burkert (HU) maj. dec. Xaviel Ramos (DU), 13-4
157- Jake Faust (DU) tech fall Jake Kaminsky (HU), 17-1 (6:58)
165- Bobby Fehr (HU) dec. Michael Wright (DU), 11-7
174- #17 Connor Bass (DU) dec. Sage Heller (HU), 9-4
184- Alec Schenk (DU) maj. dec. Michael Oxley (HU), 10-2
197- Nezar Haddad (HU) dec. Luke Farinaro (DU), 5-4
285- #7 Jacob Kasper (DU) WBF Omar Haddad (HU), 3:32

Hofstra 34, East Stroudsburg 15
125- John Pellegrino (ESU) def. Jacob Martin (HU), 8-7
133- Vinny Vespa (HU) maj. dec. Connor Maliff (ESU), 11-0
141- Dylan Nace (ESU) WBF Connor Burkert (Hofstra), 1:45
149- Ryan Burkert (HU) tech fall Blake Cohen (ESU), 17-0
157- Jake Kaminsky (HU) def. Joey Kratochvil (ESU), 6-4
165- Bobby Fehr (HU) won via forfeit
174- Sage Heller (HU) won via forfeit
184- Tyler Richardson (ESU) WBF Michael Oxley (HU), 4:59
197- Nezar Haddad (HU) maj. dec. Brandon Steele (ESU), 12-3
285- Omar Haddad (HU) def. Daniel Makagon (ESU), 2:24