Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra Wrestling team will wrap up their regular season this Saturday, February 17 when the Pride host two Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) matches at the David S. Mack Physical Education Center. Hofstra will square off against the Bears of Brown at 1 p.m. before the face the Crimson of Harvard at 6 p.m.

Hofstra will recognize their alumni at halftime of the Brown match with a post-match social occurring at The Greene Turtle on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow at 3 p.m. There is a $35 charge for the social and interested parties should contact Kevin Barry, Senior Director of Athletic Development at (516) 463-1944 or by email at kevin.barry@hofstra.edu.

Hofstra will provide live stats of both the Brown and Harvard matches. Pride Productions will provide live video and live audio of the Harvard match. Tickets can also be purchased online at Hofstratickets.com, at the Hofstra Box Office in the David S. Mack Sports Complex during normal business hours or at the gate in the Physical Education Center on Saturday. Links for all can be found on this page as well as on the wrestling schedule page on GoHofstra.com.

Hofstra, which is currently 9-9 overall and 3-3 in the EIWA, is coming off a 45-3 victory over EIWA-opponent Sacred Heart at the Mack Physical Education Center last Sunday. The Pride won nine of the 10 matches including pins by sophomore Sage Heller at 174, junior Nezar Haddad at 197 and senior Michael Hughes at 285. Sophomore Vinny Vespa had a technical fall win at 141 and junior Ryan Burkert added a major decision victory at 149 for the Pride.

The Pride continue to be led by Hughes, who improved to 29-2 on the season. He is tied for the Division I lead in pins with 15. Hughes is ranked sixth by WIN, seventh by Track Wrestling, ninth by Amateur Wrestling News, tenth by The Open Mat and InterMat and 11^th by FloWrestling. He is also ranked fourth in the NCAA RPI at 285 and ninth in the NCAA Coaches Panel Poll.

Haddad is 16-12 on the season at 197, Heller is 12-10 on the season at 174 and Burkett is 7-8 at 149.

Brown is 5-6 overall and 5-3 in the EIWA this season. The Bears are led by Ian Butterbrodt, who is ranked 24^th in the NCAA RPI with a 14-10 record at 285, Christian LaFragola, who is ranked 21^st in the NCAA Coaches Panel with a 12-6 mark at 184, Jonathan Viruet, who is ranked 28^th in the RPI with a 15-11 record at 165 and Justin Staudenmayer, who is 22^nd in the RPI with a 20-9 record at 157.

Harvard is 4-4 on the season and 2-4 in the EIWA. The Crimson is led by Nolan Hellickson, who is ranked 30^th in the RPI with a 14-7 record at 125, A.J. Jaffe, who is 28^th in the RPI with a 19-8 record at 141, Josef Johnson, who is ranked 16^th in the RPI with a 21-8 mark at 174 and Kanon Dean, who is ranked 23^rd in the RPI with an 18-13 record at 184.

After the Harvard match, Hofstra will prepare to compete in and host the 2018 EIWA Championships, the 114^th EIWA Championships, presented by EW Howell Construction Group and EAI, Inc, at the David S. Mack Sports Complex on Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4. For more information on the EIWA Championships, please go to GoHofstra.com/EIWA.