COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Roger Williams University Wrestling team split their four duals on Saturday at the North / South Duals hosted by Ursinus. The Hawks fell to #25 Ursinus, 36-12, dropped their second dual of the day against SUNY Oneonta, 25-14, before earning wins over Albright, 28-15, and Delaware Valley, 37-15.
Against the Bears, the Hawks picked up the first win of the dual with
CJ Wood (Haverhill, Mass.) knocking off Gabe Tulone, 10-5 by decision, ahead of Blaise Verdino earning a major decision win, 12-4, to pull the Bears ahead. A win by teach fall at 141 pounds, put Ursinus up 9-3, before
Gavin McKenna (Kingston, Mass.) tallied a key victory by decision to pull within three points, but a pin at 157 pounds expanded the lead back to nine points. The Hawks answered with
Gordon Murray (Porter Corners, N.Y.) pulling out a win by fall, but the Bears saw four straight wins, two by fall to secure the victory.
In their second dual of the day, the Hawks fell to Oneonta 25-14, the Red Dragons jumped out to a 11-0 lead after the first three bouts, but
Matthew Castillo (Port Washington, N.Y.) sparked a three match winning streak, with a tech fall victory, followed by
Jack Forte (Westbury, N.Y.) and
Matt Gish (Cromwell, Conn.) each earning three points with decision victories. At 174 and 184 pounds, the Red Dragons tallied wins by major decision, but
Eric Power (Roslindale, Mass.) added three more points at 197 pounds, before a pin at 285 closed out the match.
The Hawks first win of the day came against Albright, 28-15, where they jumped out to an early lead against the Lions.
Kenna Gioffre (Newtown, Conn.) opened the match at 125 earning a win by tech fall, before
Caden Bruseo (Brookline, N.H.) added six poitn with a win by fall.
Shaun McLaughlin (Natick, Mass.) added five points with a 19-4 victory over his opponent at 141 pounds, and Castillo picked up another win with an 11-7 win by decision at 149 pounds. Albright responded with back-to-back falls at 157 pounds and 165 pounds. After a win by
Tyrell Newmann (Cranston, R.I.) at 174 pounds secured three more points, Albright's Abdoul Akala secured three points with an 8-3 win, before Power and
Jayden Toppan (Gloucester, Mass.) each picked up wins by decision.
The Hawks rounded out the day with a 37-15 win over Delaware Valley. After dropping the 125 match by fall, the Hawks responded with four straight falls at 133, 141, 149, and 157 pounds. A loss by decision at 165 pounds put the Hawks up 24-9, but Newmann again secured a victory, this time by tech fall, before Delaware Valley earned a win by fall at 184 pounds. The Hawks then took the final two matches to secure the win.
Roger Williams (9-5) will next compete at the Trinity Duals on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 11:00 AM, facing WPI and the host Bantams. The Hawks will then turn their attention to the Wildcat Open on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 10:00 AM ahead of the NEWA Dual Championships on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 9:30 AM.
