Friday, February 8
Leeman-Turner Arena
07:00 PM

Lehigh University

11
vs
25

Hofstra

Lehigh drops Sheridan Dual to No. 16 Hofstra

2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh’s three match winning streak came to an end on Friday night as No. 16 Hofstra won seven of ten bouts to hand the Mountain Hawks a 25-11 loss in the 2008 Sheridan Dual in front of nearly 1,700 fans at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Pride’s nationally ranked lightweights helped build a 12-0 lead and Hofstra never looked back as the Pride improve to 12-7, while dropping the Mountain Hawks to 10-12 overall.

 

The Pride put six points on the board right off the bat, as No. 13 Dave Tomasette built an 8-0 first period lead before pinning freshman Mitch Berger in 2:01.

 

One of the most anticipated bouts of the night pitted sophomore Seth Ciasulli against sixth ranked Lou Ruggirello at 133. The Hofstra sophomore scored a first period takedown and added a key three point second period near fall, in a 6-1 victory. All-American Charles Griffin followed with a win over senior Jeff Santo, but a late reversal from Santo prevented the major decision, and Griffin had to settle for an 11-5 win.

 

Junior Trevor Chinn put the Mountain Hawks on the scoreboard with his team-leading 20th victory of the season, a 21-6 technical fall over Jeff Rotella at 149. Chinn secured two first period takedowns and a three point near fall, and never looked back as he finished with eight takedowns in his seven minutes of wrestling.

 

Hofstra would extend its lead with close wins in the next three bouts. At 157 senior Dave Nakasone led Jonny Bonilla-Bowman 3-2, but yielded a third period takedown and was unable to muster an escape before the buzzer and ultimately fell 4-3. Ryan Patrovich followed with a 4-1 win over sophomore Mike Galante.

 

The lone matchup of ranked wrestlers took place at 174, where No. 6 Alton Lucas of Hofstra met 20th ranked freshman Alex Caruso. Lucas converted a questionable takedown in the first period, and added a second in the second period despite being visibly fatigued. Trailing 5-3 in the third, Caruso had several quality attempts at a tying takedown but was never granted control by referee Gary Kessel, as Lucas held on for the 5-3 decision.

 

At 184, sophomore Manuel Schubert stepped into the lineup for his season dual debut. After yielding the first takedown, Schubert scored two of his own and held off Justin Danz 6-4. Hofstra’s Joe Rovelli earned a 14-3 major decision over sophomore Alex Iacocca at 197, before sophomore Justin Allen sent the home crowd happy, converting a takedown 42 seconds into sudden victory to defeat Tom Daddino 4-2 at heavyweight.

 

“We knew coming that they could blow us away in a few weights,” said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel. “I thought we could have won a few more bouts, but looking forward I think the break we had helped us, and hopefully we’re coming on at the right time of the year.”

 

The Mountain Hawks will return to action on Thursday night when they host Rider in the 2007-08 home finale at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Lehigh defeated an undermanned Rider squad 21-11 last month at the Virginia Duals. Thursday’s dual gets underway at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting the Lehigh ticket office, located in Grace Hall.

 

 

 

Weight

Matchup

Result

 

Score/Time

125

Dave Tomasette (Hofstra)

Fall

Mitch Berger (Lehigh)

2:01

133

Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra)

dec.

Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh)

6-1

141

Charles Griffin (Hofstra)

dec.

Jeff Santo (Lehigh)

11-5

149

Trevor Chinn (Lehigh)

tech. fall

Jeff Rotella (Hofstra)

21-6, 7:00

157

Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (Hofstra)

dec.

Dave Nakasone (Lehigh)

4-3

165

Ryan Patrovich (Hofstra)

dec.

Mike Galante (Lehigh)

4-1

174

Alton Lucas (Hofstra)

dec.

Alex Caruso (Lehigh)

5-3

184

Manuel Schubert (Lehigh)

dec.

Justin Danz (Hofstra)

6-4

197

Joe Rovelli (Hofstra)

maj. dec.

Alex Iacocca (Lehigh)

14-3

285

Justin Allen (Lehigh)

dec.

Tom Daddino (Hofstra)

4-2, s.v.

Attendance – 1,690

Referee – Gary Kessel

 

Photos © 2008 Specialty Photographic

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