BRISTOL, R.I.—The RWU Wrestling team won a thriller on Friday night over Springfield by a score of 23-15.
 
This was the first year the Hawks and the Pride have competed in the "Double Duals" where RWU and Springfield wrestle two dual meets concurrently.
 
Senior captain Nicholas Barbaria (Scarsdale, N.Y.) got the Hawks off to a great start with a major decision over his opponent to put the team up 4-0. Barbaria was relentless on his feet and scored a number of takedowns for the bonus points. At 133 pounds, freshman Tristan Haviland (Trumbull, Conn.) may have had one of the most impressive wins of the night with a decision over Ian Tolotti of Springfield who was an All-Region wrestler a year ago. At 141, Matt Elias (Madison, Conn.) gave up a tough pin to bring Springfield in the match and Springfield won again at 149 to put the Pride on top 9-7. Tyler Gazaway (New Providence, N.J.) got the Hawks rolling again with a major decision at 157 to enter halftime with the Hawks leading 11-9.
 
 
In the second stanza of the dual, Taylor Shay (New Fairfield, Conn.) kept things rolling at 165 pounds with a win to increase the Hawks lead to 14-9. The Pride clawed back with a win at 174 and Connor Humphries (East Longmeadow, Mass.) picked up a crucial win for RWU at 184. Entering the final match of the night, the Hawks were up 17-15 in a winner take all heavyweight match. Adam Patsun (Somers, Conn.) had his hands full against Nationally Ranked Joe Fusco of Springfield. A back and forth match turned in to a huge moment in Patsun's career as he pinned Fusco to seal the win for the Hawks.
 
"We are so proud of the team today," said Head Coach Jon Egan. "Patsun put the team on his back and sealed this win for us. Certainly a great way to enter the holiday break"
 
The 19^th-nationally ranked Hawks improve to 5-0.