Bonanno (Wantagh, NY) gave the Pride a 5-0 lead in the match with a 16-0 victory over Drexel senior Michael Gomez in just four minutes. After leading 7-0 after one period, Bonanno poured it on in the second for his 14th win in 19 decisions. Pride sophomore Jamie Franco (Monroe, NY) then boosted the Pride lead to 8-0 with a 9-3 decision over freshman Paul Wampler at 133 pounds. Franco posted a big third period with a reversal and two takedowns to improve his season record to 10-7.
The Dragons got on the board at 141 pounds when junior Frank Cimato held Pride sophomore Luke Vaith (Hastings, MN) to four escapes on the way to a 9-4 win. Vaith falls to 9-6 on the season. But Hofstra junior Justin Accordino (Wilkes-Barre, PA) boosted the Pride lead to 11-3 with a 7-2 win over junior Shane Fenningham at 149 pounds. Accordino improved to 11-0 on the year.
Drexel closed the gap with back-to-back wins at 157 and 165 to close to 11-9. At 157, sophomore Austin Sommer downed Pride junior Tyler Banks (Griswold, CT), 5-2, on five-third period points. Banks falls to 5-6. At 165 pounds in a battle of the top two wrestlers in the CAA, Drexel's 19th-ranked and second in the conference junior Joe Booth defeated Hofstra's 13th-ranked and top wrestler in the CAA, senior P.J. Gillespie, 3-2 on a third period escape. Gillespie falls to 15-4 on the season.
But the Pride bounced back with two big wins at 174 and 184 to give them a 19-9 advantage. At 174, freshman Jermaine John (Brooklyn, NY) came up with a 9-4 victory over Alex Rinaldi to boost the Pride lead to 14-9. John improved to 4-8 on the season. Clymer (Germansville, PA) followed with an 18-3 tech fall win over Nick Becattini. After holding a 2-0 lead after the first period, Clymer exploded for seven in the second and eight in the third plus the riding time point for the win. He is now 15-5 on the season.
The Dragons needed bonus-point wins in their final two matches of the contest but came away with wins at 197 and 285 to fall a little short. At 197, sophomore Brandon Palik, ranked 19th in the nation, downed Pride sophomore Tim Murphy (Nazareth, PA), 8-1, to close to 19-12 in the match. Murphy is now 9-10 on the season. At 285, senior Kyle Frey, the top wrestler in the CAA at heavyweight, downed Pride junior Paul Snyder (Greensburg, PA), 6-3. Snyder is now 10-6 on the year.
Hofstra, which has won 74 of its last 80 conference matches with five losses and one tie, returns to action next Sunday, January 15, when they host Kutztown University in a non-conference match at 1 p.m.
Results:
125 Steve Bonanno (Hofstra) tech fall Michael Gomez (Drexel) (4:00) 16-0.
133 Jamie Franco (Hofstra) dec Paul Wampler (Drexel) 9-3.
141 Frank Cimato (Drexel) dec Luke Vaith (Hofstra) 9-4.
149 Justin Accordino (Hofstra) dec Shane Fenningham (Drexel) 7-2
157 Austin Sommer (Drexel) dec Tyler Banks (Hofstra) 5-2.
165 Joe Booth (Drexel) dec P.J. Gillespie (Hofstra) 3-2.
174 Jermaine John (Hofstra) dec Alex Rinaldi (Drexel) 9-4.
184 Ben Clymer (Hofstra) tech fall Niccolo Becattini (Drexel) 7:00
197 Brandon Palik (Drexel) dec Tim Murphy (Hofstra) 8-1.
285 Kyle Frey (Drexel) dec Paul Snyder (Hofstra) 6-3.
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