Five Dragons Pick Up Wins Against No. 25 Hofstra; Drexel edged 15-19

Sunday, January 8

Hempstead, N.Y.

1:00

Drexel University

Hofstra

Five Dragons Pick Up Wins Against No. 25 Hofstra; Drexel edged 15-19

1/8/2012 3:24:00 PM | Wrestling

Hempstead, N.Y. – Drexel was edged 15-19 by No. 25 Hofstra in both teams' CAA openers. Hofstra struck early and held the lead but the Dragons proved they were up to the challenge as they brought it back to within two points halfway through the dual with four matches to go. Despite splitting matches with the nationally ranked Pride, the Dragons, now 3-3, were unable to answer Hofstra's two bonus point wins which were the eventual four point difference.

Hofstra got on the board early with back-to-back wins including a tech fall at 125 pounds by No. 13 Steve Bonanno over Michael Gomez followed by a 9-3 decision in favor of the Pride's Jamie Franco over Paul Wampler at 133 pounds. Junior Frank Cimato used a 9-4 decision over Luke Vaith to put the Dragons back into it at 141 pounds. Cimato is now 10-8 overall and 4-2 in dual meets. Justin Accordino pushed Hofstra's lead back to eight with a 7-2 decision over Shane Fenningham at 149 pounds.

Austin Sommer and Joe Booth used consecutive wins at 157 and 165 pounds respectively to pull Drexel to within two points of the Pride and start the Dragon's rally. Sommer, 10-8 and 4-2 in dual matches, out lasted Tyler Banks in a 5-2 decision to cut the lead to five. Booth, in another nail bitter, pulled off the 3-2 decision over his counterpart P.J. Gillespie making the score 11-9 with four matches to go. Booth, ranked 19 at 165 pounds is now 2-1 all-time against No. 13 Gillespie.

Hofstra answered back however, with a 9-4 decision at 174 pounds followed by its second bonus point win of the dual, an 18-3 tech fall at 184 pounds. With the heavy hitters still on deck the Pride swung their lead to 19-9. The Dragons never backed down as they picked up the next two matches at 197 pounds and heavy weight finishing the match just four points shy of the Pride.

Brandon Palik continued his impressive season with an 8-1 decision over Hofstra's Tim Murphy. Palik, now 16-9 overall, leads the Dragons in wins this year. Heavy weight Kyle Frey, in his senior campaign, pulled off a 6-3 decision over Paul Snyder setting his overall record at 14-4, a .777 win percentage. Frey remains unbeaten in dual matches this year picking up a win in all six of Drexel's meets.

The Dragons will be back in action Thursday and Friday, January 13-14 as they travel down the coast to Virginia Beach, Va. to compete in the Virginia Duals.

125 No. 13 Steve Bonanno (Hofstra) won by tech fall over Michael Gomez (Drexel) 4:00 15-0
133 Jamie Franco (Hofstra) won by decision over Paul Wampler (Drexel) 9-3
141 Frank Cimato (Drexel) won by decision over Luke Vaith (Hofstra) 9-4
149 Justin Accordino (Hofstra) won by decision over Shane Fenningham (Drexel) 7-2
157 Austin Sommer (Drexel) won by decision over Tyler Banks (Hofstra) 5-2
165 No. 19 Joe Booth (Drexel) won by decision over No. 13 Paul Gillespie (Hofstra) 3-2
174 Jermaine John (Hofstra) won by decision over Alex Rinaldi (Drexel) 9-4
184 Ben Clymer (Hofstra) won by tech fall over Niccolo Becattini (Drexel) 7:00 18-3
197 No. 19 Brandon Palik (Drexel) won by decision over Tim Murphy (Hofstra) 8-1
285 Kyle Frey (Drexel) won by decision over Paul Snyder (Hofstra) 6-3