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    Hofstra returns to action at Southern Scuffle

    Hempstead, NY -- For the second time this month, the Hofstra Wrestling team will face some of the country’s best wrestlers when the Pride return to action on Wednesday and Thursday, December 29-30 in the 2010 Southern Scuffle at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.

    The Southern Scuffle, which Hofstra Head Wrestling Coach Tom Shifflet created while head coach at UNC Greensboro in 2004, promises to preview some of the matches that will be seen in March at the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. Seven of the 10 weight classes will have seven or more top 20 ranked wrestlers competing while the 149-pound division will have five top 20 grapplers, 157 will have four top 10 wrestlers, and 165 will have four in the top 20.

    In addition to #18 Hofstra, the 2010 Southern Scuffle field includes: #1 Cornell, #4 Minnesota; #7 Penn State; #16 Michigan; #20 Kent State; and #25 Virginia; Air Force; Appalachian State; Army; Bloomsburg; Boston University; Campbell; The Citadel; Duke; Edinboro; Gardner-Webb; George Mason; Liberty; Lock Haven; Navy; North Carolina; North Carolina State; Ohio; Old Dominion; Penn; Princeton; UNC Greensboro; Utah Valley; and VMI.

    Hofstra, which last wrestled on Sunday, December 11 in a 22-17 dual match victory over Maryland before breaking for semester finals and the Christmas holidays, will be making its fourth appearance in the Scuffle after a third-place finish in 2007, an eighth-place finish in 2008, and a 23rd place finish, with just five wrestlers, in last year’s Scuffle. Unlike last year, the Pride will enter a full line-up of wrestlers for the double-elimination, NCAA Championship format competition that features seven of the current top 25 teams in the most recent InterMat Division I Poll. In the 2009 Scuffle, Ryan Patrovich placed fifth at 174 pounds while P.J. Gillespie was eighth at 165 pounds.

    The Pride, 3-2-1 on the season, is ranked in the top 25 in four of the six weekly polls and is also receiving votes in a fifth. The Pride is ranked 17th by the Wrestling Report (TWR), 18th by InterMat, 24th by Amateur Wrestling News (AWN) and 25th by WIN Magazine. Hofstra continues to receive votes in the National Wrestling Coaches Association/USA Today Coaches Poll.

    Individually, seven Pride wrestlers continue to be ranked in the weekly polls conducted by InterMat, Division I College Wrestling (DICW), Amateur Wrestling News (AWN), the Wrestling Report (TWR) and WIN this week. Leading Hofstra is senior Lou Ruggirello (Walden, NY), off to a 10-1 start with four pins and ranked fourth by InterMat, DICW, AWN, and TWR, and fifth by WIN at 133 pounds. Junior P.J. Gillespie (Long Beach, NY), 8-2 on the season at 165 pounds, is ranked fifth by AWN and TWR, sixth by InterMat and DICW, and eighth by WIN. Senior Ryan Patrovich (Bohemia, NY), 7-3 on the season at 174, is ranked 14th by DICW, 15th by InterMat, AWN and WIN, and 16th by TWR.

    Sophomore Steve Bonanno (Wantagh, NY), 7-5 on the season at 125 pounds, is ranked 15th by InterMat, 16th by DIWC and TWR, 17th by AWN and 18th by WIN. Sophomore Justin Accordino (Wilkes-Barre, PA), 8-5 at 149 pounds, is ranked 18th by TWR, 19th by InterMat and 21st by DICW. Junior Vince Varela (Rio Rancho, NM), 7-6 on the year at 141 pounds, is ranked 16th by AWN and 27th by TWR. Junior Ben Clymer (Germansville, PA), who is 2-3 this year, is ranked 31st by TWR.

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