Injury-filled season continues for Hofstra wrestling in losses to Brown and Harvard

The Hofstra wrestling road trip on Saturday, Feb. 16 ended unsuccessfully with tough losses to both Brown University and Harvard University. The Pride are now 6-13 overall and 2-7 in Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) matches.

The Pride opened up the day with a 24-12 loss to Brown in Providence, RI.

The first two matches went to the Bears, giving them an early 6-0 lead after No. 31 Ian Butterbrodt beat Omar Haddad by decision at 285 pounds, and Trey Keeley defeated the Pride’s Dylan Ryder at 125 pounds.

The Pride’s first win came at 133 pounds as Jacob Martin’s four takedowns and riding time point were enough to put Hofstra on the board, but still trailing the Bears 6-3.

The Bears earned the next six points after a 141-pound forfeit by the Pride, but Holden Heller fought back at 149 pounds to win his match 11-4 and close the team point gap to 12-6.

However, the Bears took a dominating lead in the next two matches with a win at 157 pounds, and a 165-pound win by No. 17 ranked Jonathan Viruet of Brown to put the Bears at a 21-6 lead.

Hofstra won two of the three final matches of the night with wins by Ricky Stamm at 174 pounds and Nezar Haddad at 197 pounds.

But the two wins weren’t enough as the Pride fell to the Bears in a final score of 24-12.

The Pride then made their way from Providence to Cambridge to face the Harvard Crimson later that night, resulting in a 24-19 loss, ending EIWA competition for the season.

The Crimson opened up the scoring by taking an early 6-0 lead with wins in the first two bouts at 157 and 165 pounds.

However, Hofstra dominated the next four matches giving themselves a 15-6 lead over the Crimson. Stamm, who’s currently on a five match winning streak, won his 174-pound match defeating Tyler Tarsi 8-4 by decision, followed by wins at 184, 197, and 285 pounds by teammates Trey Rogers and the Haddad brothers.

The Hofstra lead quickly ended after forfeits at 125 and 133, and a win by fall at 141 putting the Crimson back on top 24-15.

Heller ended the night with a 19-8 major decision win at 149 pounds, as a final score of 24-19 resulted in the second of two losses for the Pride in one day.

“[Harvard] was not a dual meet I was expecting to lose. Brown was not a dual meet I was expecting to lose [either],” said Hofstra head coach Dennis Papadatos.

With only one match left in the regular season, both the coaches and athletes are disappointed with this season’s results.

“An unfortunate, frustrating, really frustrating year. The team and Hofstra wrestling does not deserve some of the results we’ve gotten this year,” Papadatos said.

The Pride return to the mat to end the regular season against George Mason University at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics