College Wrestling
Hofstra University 26, Rider University 9
LAWRENCEVILLE- Ranked 24th in the nation by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and ninth in the nation among Mid Majors, Hofstra won eight bouts to defeat Rider in a Colonial Athletic Association dual meet Thursday night.
"Our youth showed up in several places," said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. "Hofstra is a veteran team and they looked pretty good tonight. I don't think we wrestled well tonight but I think that had more to do with the fact that Hofstra wrestled very well."
For Rider (9-9, 3-2 CAA), junior Jim Resnick (Media, Pa./Penncrest) ranked first in the CAA and 10th in the nation, won by fall in 1:08. It was Resnick's first match since January 13. "It is definitely good to have Resnick back," Taylor said. "He's looking pretty sharp."
"It was nice to get back on the mat," said Resnick, who underwent surgery on his knee three weeks ago. "I felt good. I'm back to 100 percent. I've never been out this long in my career. It was tough but I really had no choice. Going into surgery I didn't know when I'd be back but recovery went great and I'm ready for the home stretch."
Freshman Don McNeil (Plainville, Mass./Wyoming Seminary) won at 197 for the final score. "Don managed to hang on to get the win," Taylor said.
For Hofstra (11-3, 5-1 CAA), 133 Jamie Franco, ranked second in the CAA and 20th in the nation, won a major decision over freshman Jimmy Morris (Northport, N.Y./St. Anthony's), who is ranked third in the CAA.
At 141 Hofstra's Luke Vaith, ranked second in the CAA, won a major decision over Rider's Jimmy Kirchner, ranked third in the CAA.
At 157 Hofstra's Tyler Banks defeated the fourth ranked wrestler in the CAA.
Hofstra heavyweight Paul Snyder, ranked second in the CAA and 19th in the nation, won to give Hofstra a 3-0 lead.
At 125 Hofstra's Steve Bonanno, ranked first in the CAA and 11th in the nation, defeated the third ranked wrestler in the CAA, sophomore Chuck Zeisloft (Woodbury Heights, N.J./Gateway).
At 149 Justin Accordino, ranked second in the CAA and 19th in the nation defeated junior Zac Cibula (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg Casco), who is ranked third in the CAA but is still coming back from an injury. "Zac still needs a bit more time (to get back to 100 percent) but he's a tough kid," Taylor said. "He'll get back."
Hofstra's 184 Ben Clymer, ranked first in the CAA and ninth nationally, defeated freshman Clint Morrison (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff), who is ranked third in the CAA, 2-0. Clymer defeated Morrison 4-2 earlier this year. "Clint is getting better," Taylor said. "I am not disappointed with his performance tonight. Clymer is a very tough kid who recently defeated the third ranked wrestler in the nation. You can see Clint improving and that's the important thing. It was a hard-fought match."
Hofstra's P.J. Gillespie, ranked third in the CAA and 10th in the nation, won at 165.
Rider defeated Hofstra the last time the Pride visited Lawrenceville, 21-16 on February 17, 2010. Hofstra has won 12 of the last 13 meetings with Rider, including 25-12 last year in New York. Hofstra leads the all-time series 23-17.
Rider travels to Boston University for a CAA dual Sunday afternoon. "BU is a solid team as well," Taylor said. "They will be a tough opponent."
BU will be the final match before the CAA Championships. "The CAAs are very, very tough this year," Taylor said. "You've got three teams (Binghamton, Hofstra, Old Dominion) ranked in the top 25 in the nation for a reason, they're good."
Hwt Snyder-H dec. Craig-R 3-0 3-0
125 Bonanno-H dec. Zeisloft-R 6-2 6-0
133 Franco-H major dec. Morris-R 11-0 10-0
141 Vaith-H major dec. Kirchner-R 10-1 14-0
149 Accordino-H dec. Cibula-R 6-4 17-0
157 Banks-H dec. Santiago-R 4-1 20-0
165 Gillespie-H dec. Brundage-R 8-3 23-0
174 Resnick-R wbf John-H 1:08 23-6
184 Clymer-H dec. Morrison-R 2-0 26-6
197 McNeil-R dec. Murphy-H 11-8 26-9
-caa-
