HOFSTRA DROPS 31-12 DECISION TO PENN

Hempstead, NY - Hofstra sophomore P.J. Gillespie (Long Beach, NY) upset Penn’s #19 Gabriel Burak (Colorado Springs, CO) at 165 pounds, but Penn won six of the eight contested weight classes and posted a 31-12 victory over the Pride Sunday afternoon at the David S Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The Quakers (6-4) won their second consecutive dual match, while Hofstra falls to 5-8-2 with their second straight loss.

The Pride sported a new line-up on Sunday that featured three wrestlers who made either their dual match or season debut in a new weight class. Freshman Luke Vaith (Hastings, MN) moved from 141 to 133, junior Jeff Rotella (West Windsor, NJ) moved from 133 to 149, and red-shirt freshman Pat Murphy (Nazareth, PA) made his season debut at 197 pounds.

18th-ranked Micah Burak (Colorado Springs, CO) started the match with a win by fall over Murphy at 197 pounds. Burak built a 6-2 lead in the first period before pinning Murphy at the 2:20 mark. Following a Hofstra forfeit at heavyweight, Penn’s Mark Rappo (Holland, PA) posted a major decision (12-4) over freshman Jamie Franco (Monroe, NY) at 125 pounds. Brian Ortenzio (Camp Hill, PA) followed with a 7-1 decision over Vaith for a 19-0 advantage.

Penn extended their match lead to 22-0 as Zack Kemmerer (East Greenville, PA) posted a 4-1 decision over red-shirt freshman Tyler Banks (Griswold, CT) at 141 pounds, using a third period takedown to extend his lead to 4-1 and negate Banks’ riding time advantage. The Quakers went ahead 26-0 after #9 Cesar Grajales (Brandon, FL) recorded a major decision (13-3) over Rotella (West Windsor, NJ) at 149 pounds.

Hofstra got on the board at 157 pounds due to Penn forfeiting the weight class. The 165-pound match between Gillespie and Burak was the most competitive of the day as the two entered the third period tied at 2-2. Gillespie (25-10) used an escape with 30 seconds to go to post a 3-2 decision and make the match score 26-9 in favor of Penn.

The Quakers rebounded at 174 pounds as 20th-ranked Scott Giffin (Berlin, NJ) scored a technical fall over senior Jon Rothman(Bridgewater, NJ) at the 4:02 mark. But Hofstra prevailed in the final match of the afternoon as senior Anthony Tortora (Chappaqua, NY) recorded a 6-2 decision over Penn’s Cory Beaver (Gettysburg, PA) at 184 pounds.

Hofstra returns to action next Saturday, February 6 when it travels to Binghamton and Cornell. The Pride will face Binghamton at Noon and then travels to Ithaca for the match at Cornell at 5 p.m.

Penn 31, Hofstra 12

Wt. Match Team Score
197 #18 Micah Burak (Penn) wins by fall over Pat Murphy (HU), 2:20 0-6
Hwt. Tyler Blakely (Penn) wins by forfeit 0-12
125 Mark Rappo (Penn) maj. dec. Jamie Franco (HU), 12-4 0-16
133 Brian Ortenzio (Penn) dec. Luke Vaith (HU), 7-1 0-19
141 Zack Kemmerer (Penn) dec. Tyler Banks (HU), 4-1 0-22
149 #9 Cesar Grajales (Penn)maj. dec. Jeff Rotella (HU), 13-3 0-26
157 Jonny Bonilla Bowman (HU) wins by forfeit 6-26
165 P.J. Gillespie (HU)dec. #19 Gabriel Burak (Penn), 3-2 9-26
174 #20 Scott Giffin (Penn) tech fall Jon Rothman (HU), 4:02 9-31
184 Anthony Tortora (HU)dec. Cory Beaver (Penn), 6-2 12-31