NEW YORK, NY - The Hunter College wrestling team was defeated by Centenary College 26-9 in the Hawks home opening match of the 2011-12 season.
The Hawks recorded three victories in front of a enthusiastic Hunter Homecoming crowd, including five bouts between grapplers currently ranked in the latest NCAA DIII Metro Rankings.
The Hawks rallied back from first period deficits to win the first two bouts and take an early 6-0 match lead. At 125, #6 Oliver Lopez defeated Alex Reeves 12-10. After falling behind 4-2 in the first period, Lopez dominated the second. Reeves escaped a certain fall via the second period buzzer, giving Lopez an 8-6 lead. In the final period Lopez outlasted Reeves by executing an escape with just seconds remaining to seal the victory.
At 133, #6 Ryan Gerondel outlasted #4 Adam Swift, 7-6. Tied at five in the third period, Gerondel's takedown with 70 seconds remaining gave him his first lead of the bout. Despite an escape by Swift, Gerondel was able to corral his opponent for the Hawks second straight victory.
The Cyclones got back into the match at 141, as #5 Craig Montgomery pinned #4 Sean Messina at 3:40 to tie the match at six. Centenary then took a 9-6 match lead behind Don Miller's 11-4 decision over Brady Kwong at 149.
The turning point of the match came at 157, as #6 Matt Cartusciello gave top-seeded Chris Burdge everything he could handle. Trailing 2-1 after one period, Cartusciello dominated the second period, driving Burdge into the mat several times. But his efforts failed to score any points. Burdge held on for a 4-3 victory, and Centenary took a 12-6 lead.
The Cyclones won again at 165 as #2 Nick Bach defeated Thor McHugh 13-9 to extend their match lead to 15-6. But #6 Luke Pragdat came from behind to defeat #5 Mike Montgomery 7-6, recording a near fall with just 20 seconds remaining. At 184, Jordan Donahue fell to #3 Tim Lutke 11-3, extending Centenary's lead to 19-9.
The Hawks had the perfect combination waiting to provide a come-from-behind victory, but #2 Musa DeReese lost a 4-3 decision at 197 to #5 William Miller. Despite trailing 19-9, the heavyweight bout kept the crowd involved as top-seeded Joseph Zitone defeated Leon Bodden, 10-2 for the major decison and the final 26-9 margin of victory.
The Hawks will head to Kings Point, NY next Thursday to face the United States Merchant Marine Academy at 7:00pm.
Centenary College 26, Hunter College 9
125: Oliver Lopez (H) dec. Alex Reeves (C) 12-10 (H: 3-0)
133: Ryan Gerondel (H) dec. Adam Swift (C) 7-6 (H: 6-0)
141: Craig Montgomery (C) pin Sean Messina (H) 3:40 (6-6)
149: Don Miller (C) dec. Brady Kwong (H) 12-4 (C: 9-6)
157: Chris Burdge dec. Matt Cartusciello (H) 4-2 (C: 12-6)
165: Nick Bach (C) dec. Thor McHugh (H) 13-9 (C: 15-6)
174: Luke Pragdat (H) dec. Mike Montgomery (C) 7-6 (C: 19-6)
184: Tim Lutke (C) maj dec. Jordan Donahue (H) 11-3 (C: 19-9)
197: William Miller dec. Musa DeReese (H) 4-3 (C: 22-9)
285: Joseph Zitone (C) maj. dec. Leon Bodden (H) 10-2 (C: 26-9)
