Providence, R.I. – The 25th ranked Johnson & Wales University wrestling team defeated 29th ranked Roger Williams, 28-6 in a Pilgrim League contest at the Harborside Recreation Center on Saturday evening.
Johnson & Wales jumped out to the early 4-0 lead after a 16-5 major decision victory by junior Michael Bastante (Totowa, N.J.) at 125 pounds. Bastante is currently ranked No. 7 nationally at that weight class. JWU then swept the next four weight classes, including wins by sophomore James Soprano (Belleville, N.J.) at 133 pounds, sophomore John Donaleski (Belleville, N.J.) and 141 pounds and 149 pounder Andrew Van Dyk (Ocean Township, N.J.) also taking an 11-5 win to give the Wildcats the 13-0 advantage. JWU extended their lead to 16-0 on a 6-4 win by sophomore Anthony Pierrio (Norwood, N.J.) at 157 pounds before Roger Williams got on the board with a 4-0 victory by senior Kyle Rodgers (Danbury, Conn.) at 165 pounds.
The first and only pin fall of the evening came at 174 pounds when JWU freshman Colin Lenhardt (Hayes, Va.) won in a time of 2:20. The Wildcats continued to control the action when a 12-6 victory by junior Brennan Ward (Waterford, Conn.) at 184 pounds extended their lead to 25-3. The win improved Ward's record to a perfect 13-0 on the season. The visiting Hawks notched their second victory of the night when junior Nick Cambi (Cohasset, Mass.), currently the second ranked wrestler in the nation at 197 pounds, posted a 9-4 win. The Wildcats wrapped up the evening with a 3-1 win by freshman Humphrey Swift (Danbury, Conn.) at 285 pounds to take the 28-6 victory.
With the win Johnson & Wales is now 2-1 in dual matches for the season while Roger Williams falls to 2-1 for the year. The Wildcats will return to action on Wednesday, December 9th when they travel to Bridgewater State for a dual-match, starting at 7:00 p.m. RWU hosts three teams next Saturday, American International College, University of Southern Maine and Bridgewater State College, beginning at 12 p.m.
Running Score
125: Michael Bastante (JWU) def. Kaare Stokdal (RWU), 16-5 (Maj. Dec.) 4-0
133: James Soprano (JWU) def. Jay Mahoney (RWU), 10-5 7-0
141: John Donaleski (JWU) def. Martin Mitchell (RWU), 5-3 10-0
149: Andrew Van Dyk (JWU) def. Nicholas Herrick (RWU), 11-5 13-0
157: Anthony Pierrio (JWU) def. Michael Monson (RWU), 6-4 16-0
165: Kyle Rodgers (RWU) def. Jordan Corona (JWU), 4-0 16-3
174: Colin Lenhardt (JWU) wbf. Chris Nadeau (RWU), 2:20 22-3
184: Brennan Ward (JWU) def. Philip Ernst (RWU), 12-6 25-3
197: Nick Cambi (RWU) def. Patrick McCrohan (JWU), 9-4 25-6
285: Humphrey Swift (JWU) def. Bennett Kissane (RWU), 3-1 28-6
Release courtesy of Dan Booth, Johnson & Wales
