The contest features two of the only three remaining undefeated programs in dual matches. Top-ranked Oklahoma State (11-0) is the other undefeated team. Hofstra has not lost a dual match since falling to then-number one Cornell on Long Island on February 5, 2011.
The Pride, 10-0 this season, extended their dual match winning streak last weekend with a 26-10 victory at Rutgers on January 27 and a 23-13 victory over Penn on Long Island on January 29. Six Hofstra wrestlers-Steve Bonanno at 125, Luke Vaith at 141, Justin Accordino at 149, Tyler Banks at 157, P.J. Gillespie at 165 and Ben Clymer at 184-each posted 2-0 marks in the two matches. After the two wins last week, Hofstra moved up one place to 23rd this week in the NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll.
The Pride are led by Clymer, who is now 22-5 and ranked 11th at 184 pounds by InterMat. He is presently riding an eight-match winning streak. Junior Steve Bonanno is now 21-5 on the year, and ranked 14th at 125 pounds. He, too, is on an eight-match winning streak. 165-pound senior P.J. Gillespie, who is also 21-5 on the season, remains ranked 19th in the nation by InterMat. He has won fourth consecutive matches and six of the last seven. Red-shirt junior Justin Accordino, another Pride wrestler on an eight-match winning streak, is 18-8 on the season at 149 pounds and ranked 19th by Division I College Wrestling.
Sophomore Jamie Franco is 15-9 and ranked 24th at 133 pounds by Division I College Wrestling this season. Classmate Luke Vaith, who posted a 2-1 overtime win over #10 Zach Kemmerer from Penn last Sunday, is now 15-7 and ranked 19th by WIN Magazine at 141.
Juniors Tyler Banks (10-8) at 157 and Paul Snyder (15-8) at 285, sophomore Tim Murphy (10-15) at 197, and freshman Jermaine John (7-12) at 174 are all unranked in this week's polls.
The third-ranked Big Red of Cornell moved up one place this week following their 28-11 win at Iowa State last Sunday. Cornell, 8-0 this season, is on a 16-match winning streak dating back to a loss at Lehigh on January 20, 2011.
This year, the Big Red have victories over Minnesota (21-16), Lehigh (24-12), Penn (21-17), Princeton (30-9), Binghamton (22-21), Harvard (38-7), Brown (36-6) and Iowa State (28-11).
Cornell has four wrestlers ranked in the top five and two others in the top 20 by InterMat. Leading the group is junior, Kyle Dake, who is 23-0 and ranked first at 157 pounds. Senior Cam Simaz, is 18-1 and ranked first at 197 pounds. Classmates Steve Bosak (24-2) at 184 and Frank Perrelli (22-4) at 125 are ranked third and fifth, respectively, in their own weight classes. Sophomore Mike Nevinger is 22-9 and ranked 17th at 141 while classmate Chris Villalonga is 19-5 and ranked 20th at 149 pounds.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now