Competition begins Friday at 1 p.m. with quarterfinals, 4 p.m. for the first round of consolations, and 7 p.m. for semifinals. The second round of consolations is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday morning with finals scheduled for 1 p.m.
The Pride, who have captured nine of the last 10 conference titles (including eight in the CAA), missed out only last year as Binghamton grabbed the 2010 championship. Hofstra enters the 2011 Championships with eight of its 10 wrestlers in the number one (3) or number two (5) pre-seed spots. Leading the Pride pre-seeds are: number one picks senior Lou Ruggirello (26-3, 6-0 in the CAA), ranked fifth by InterMat at 133 pounds; junior Vince Varela (18-12, 5-1) at 141 pounds; and sophomore Paul Snyder (22-14, 5-0) at 285 pounds.
Hofstra’s second-place pre-seeds include: senior Ryan Patrovich (13-5, 1-1) at 174 pounds; juniors P.J. Gillespie (24-6, 5-1), ranked 17th by InterMat at 165 and Ben Clymer (18-8, 5-1) at 184; and sophomores Steve Bonanno (22-10, 3-2), ranked 19th by InterMat, at 125 pounds and Tyler Banks (18-15, 4-2) at 157. Freshman Matt Loew (13-21, 2-4) is pre-seeded at fifth at 197 pounds while red-shirt freshman Zach Clemente (14-12, 3-1) is not pre-seeded.
The Pride return just one defending CAA champion in Lou Ruggirello, who will be going after his fourth conference championship. Juniors P.J. Gillespie, who won the CAA title at 149 pounds in 2009, and Ben Clymer, who placed third as a true freshman in 2009, each placed second at last year’s CAA Championships.
While the Pride is ranked first in the CAA with 45 points on nine wrestlers ranked among the CAA top six entering the tournament this weekend, there will be landmines in every weight class that could stop any favored wrestler.
Binghamton, which posted 87.5 points in last year’s CAA Championships and went 5-0 in CAA duals this year, also has nine wrestlers ranked among the top six in the CAA, including three ranked nationally. The Bearcats have 36 points and are placed second in the latest conference rankings. Binghamton has three number ones in Donnie Vinson at 149, Matt Kaylor at 157 and Nate Schiedel, the defending champion at 184. In addition, number two pre-seed Anwar Goeres is the defending champion at 141 pounds while 165-pounder Justin Lister also has experience on top of the podium with a first-place finish at 157 last year.
Host Rider, which finished third in last year’s conference championships, has eight wrestlers ranked in the CAA, including top pre-seed and 20th-ranked Rob Morrison at 174-pound. The Broncs are ranked third with 32 points. Old Dominion, the CAA runner-up last year with 73 points, has nine wrestlers ranked in the conference including two nationally this season and is tied with Boston University for fourth place with 28 points. The Monarchs return top seed James Nicholson, the defending CAA champion at 125 pounds, who is also ranked fourth nationally. The Terriers have nine wrestlers ranked in the CAA, including top-pre-seed John Hall at 197 pounds. Drexel University has nine ranked in the CAA led by top-pre-seed Joe Booth at 165, while George Mason University has seven ranked in conference.
The CAA Championships will advance 17 wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championship, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, hosted by Rider and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The allocation for CAA Championship qualifiers to the NCAA Championships is: three at 133 and 165 pounds; two at 125, 149 and 174 pounds; and one at 141, 157, 184, 197 and 285 pounds. At-large qualifiers will be announced on March 9.
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