Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra Wrestling team, after a brief two-match homestand, return to the road for the start of a six-match road tour beginning this Saturday, February 2 when the Pride square off against two Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) opponents.
Hofstra will travel into New York City for a noon match against the Lions of Columbia at the Dodge Fitness Center before heading out to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a 7 p.m. contest against the Diplomats of Franklin and Marshall at the Mayser Athletic Center.
Columbia will provide live video streaming through ESPN+ while Franklin and Marshall will provide live scoring through Track Wrestling and live video through their website, GoDiplomats.com. Links to all can be found else on this page as well as on the Hofstra Wrestling schedule page on GoHofstra.com.
Hofstra is coming off two home losses at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex last Saturday. The Pride dropped a 24-16 non-conference decision to Rider in the first match of the day-night doubleheader before Bucknell recorded a 22-18 come-from-behind EIWA victory in the nightcap.
In the first match against the Broncs of Rider, Hofstra led 16-15 after
Ricky Stamm's 13-9 decision at 174-pounds. But Rider would grab decision victories in all three of the final matches to post the win. Freshmen
Dylan Ryder at 125 and
Holden Heller at 149, and sophomore
Garrett Lambert at 141 posted the earlier Pride victories.
In the second match against the Bison of Bucknell, Hofstra jumped out to a 12-0 lead after victories by Ryder, junior
Jacob Martin at 133, Lambert and Heller. But in a very short time, Bucknell recorded pins at 157 and 165 and took a Hofstra forfeit at 174 to gain an 18-12 advantage. Pride freshman
Trey Rogers grabbed a 5-3 decision at 184 to close the gap to 18-15 but Drew Phipps tallied a major decision at 197 to boost the Bison lead to 22-15. Hofstra's
Omar Haddad closed out the match with a decision at 285 to move the final score to 22-18.
Hofstra, which is now 4-9 on the season and 0-3 in EIWA matches, is led by Ryder, who is 19-9 overall and 11-2 in dual matches this season. Stamm is 12-11 at 165/174 pounds this year while
Holden Heller is 10-6 overall and 7-2 in duals at 149 on the year. Lambert is 11-10 overall and 9-4 in duals at 141 pounds.
The Lions of Columbia are 4-3 on the season and 0-3 in the EIWA with wins over VMI (27-12), Northern Colorado (19-13), Cleveland State (34-12) and George Mason (24-21). Their losses have come against American (26-10), Cornell (30-10) and Binghamton (23-12). The Lions are on a three-match losing streak. Columbia is led by senior Dan Reed, who is ranked 31st at 157-pounds in the first NCAA Coaches Panel, and junior Laurence Kosoy, who is ranked 31st at 165 in the NCAA Coaches Panel.
The Diplomats of Franklin and Marshall are 2-4 on the season and 0-3 in the EIWA. The Diplomats have wins over Davidson (35-4) and Gardner-Webb (21-19) and losses to Campbell (29-12), Brown (21-18), Harvard (28-17) and Sacred Heart (19-18). Franklin and Marshall is led by senior Antonio Pelusi (18-5), who is ranked 32nd in the NCAA Coaches Panel at 285-pounds. Junior Emmett LiCastri is 19-11 at 157-pounds this season.
