Fairfax, VA - Hofstra won nine weight classes, posting two falls, two major decisions, and a tech fall on the way to a 40-5 rout of George Mason Sunday afternoon at the Recreation Athletic Complex. The win was Hofstra's fifth dual match victory in a row.
The Pride moved to 8-5 with the win while the Patriots saw their record slip to 7-7.
"Wrestling is a tough sport, filled with battles," said Hofstra Head Wrestling Coach
Dennis Papadatos. "Our guys have been warriors lately, especially today. I am very proud of the effort, fight, and most importantly, the attitude and expectancy to win. George Mason is a very good team and is very well coached. They have beaten teams we lost to this year, which shows our growth since December. Having said that, this match is behind us already and we look forward to practice tomorrow. We are thankful for all involved and grateful that we are succeeding as we progress towards our goals for the year."
Holden Heller wasted no time in getting things going for the Pride as he scored a second period takedown on Kolby Ho and recorded the win by fall at 4:19 of their 157-pound match.
Ricky Stamm followed with a 4-0 decision at 165 over Ryan Yorkdale to make it 9-0 in favor of the Pride.
Sage Heller recorded a win by fall at 174 as he scored a first period reversal and pinned Anthony Lombardo at 2:15.
Charles Small kept the Pride rolling with a 3-2 decision over Paul Pierce at 184 pounds. Small scored a third period takedown to go up 3-1. Pierce got an escape but Small prevented any other scoring to hold on to the win.
Trey Rogers dominated Ali Salem at 197 pounds, recording a 24-9 tech fall. The Hofstra sophomore tallied 11 takedowns in the match and earned the tech fall after getting the riding time point.Â
Zachary Knighton-Ward followed with a major decision on Jake Slinger, 16-5, at 285 pounds. Knighton-Ward had seven takedowns on his way to his sixth win in a row.
Dylan Ryder, ranked 25th at 125 pounds by WrestleStat, majored Talha Farooq at 125 pounds, 14-2. Ryder scored six near fall points in the match including a four-point call in the third period.
Justin Hoyle added to the Hofstra scoring with a 1-0 decision over Josh Jones at 133. The pair battled through two scoreless periods before Hoyle scored a third-period escape after starting in the bottom position.
The Patriots would get on the board at 141 as #28 Alex Madrigal posted a tech fall over
Vinny Vespa. With the match long decided, the Patriots chose to forfeit at 149, giving
Reece Heller the uncontested win.
Hofstra will return to action Sunday, February 16 with a pair of EIWA matches against Harvard (11 a.m.) and Brown (1:30 p.m.). Both matches will take place at Hofstra's David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
Notes:
-Hofstra's five-match win streak is its longest since the 2011-12 season (10 match streak).
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Sage Heller has recorded four consecutive wins by fall and five consecutive wins overall.
-Ryder has won five matches in a row, four by major decision and one by tech fall.
-Rogers has a five-match win streak with three majors and one tech fall.
-Knighton-Ward has won his last two matches by major decision.
-The Pride is now 12-1 all-time versus George Mason.
Hofstra 40, George Mason 5
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