Penn Can’t Rebound from Tough Start at Hofstra, Drops to Pride, 23-13

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – For the first time this season, Penn (4-5) put itself in a serious hole to start a dual, and the Quakers could not recover on Long Island in a 23-13 loss to No. 24 Hofstra.

The Pride (10-0) held a 17-3 lead after five matches, with a tech fall and pin giving Hofstra crucial bonus points. The Quakers did not take advantage of Hofstra’s true lack of match scoring, as the Pride connected on just three takedowns in the first five matches.

After No. 12 Steve Bonnano pushed Hofstra to a 5-0 lead with a 15-0 tech fall at 125, No. 13 Bryan Ortenzio got Penn on the board with a 4-2 win at 133. He was aggressive to start, scoring in the first ten seconds, but couldn’t really add to his lead the rest of the way.

No. 11 Zack Kemmerer was upset in a tiebreaker at 141, dropping a 2-1 decision to Luke Vaith. Neither man scored in the first period, and each could only must an escape at the start of the next two periods to send the match to sudden victory. After the minute past scoreless, Vaith escaped quickly to start his thirty –second tiebreaker and then he held on to Kemmerer’s ankle in the final seconds of the next ride out for a 2-1 win.

No. 25 Steve Robertson was even with No. 30 Justin Accordino through almost two periods at 149, but a cement mixer on the edge with 11 seconds remaining in the middle period was enough for an Accordino fall at 4:49 in a pivotal swing bout.

In what was a common theme in the dual, the first period at 157 went scoreless before Tyler banks escaped and added a takedown against Troy Hernandez in the second period. Hernandez could not get out from bottom the rest of the way and was defeated, 4-0.

After the break, however, Penn came out with some increased aggression and won three of the final five matches. After No. 29 Lorenzo Thomas was defeated by returning All-American No. 15 P.J. Gillespie, 2-1, on a third-period reversal, Ian Korb won at 174 for three more points Penn’s way. Korb scored the only takedown of the match in the first period, riding Jermaine John out to build a big riding time lead. In the second, Korb escaped and his advantage time stood at 1:18 after a neutral third period for a 4-0 win.

No. 31 Erich Smith was again opposite a top-12 wrestler, and he was edged by No. 12 Ben Clymer, 4-1. The second period was the difference maker as Clymer escaped and pounced for a takedown to build a 3-1 lead.

No. 8 Micah Burak scored bonus points for Penn at 197 with an 11-2 major decision over Tim Murphy. Burak had four takedowns in the match, opening up in the third period with two takedowns to go with an escape and 2:57 of riding time.

At heavyweight, Long Island native Steve Graziano avenged a loss earlier in the season to Paul Snyder with a convincing 7-2 win. Graziano was in control the whole way with a takedown in each period, including a win of a bear hug scramble on the edge in the final seconds of the middle period.

The Quakers will get back into Ivy League action next Saturday with a pair of duals in New England. Up first is a trip to Beantown against Harvard at 10 a.m. followed by a jaunt down I-95 to Providence and a dual with Brown at 2 p.m.

No. 24 Hofstra def. Penn, 23-13
125 – #12 Steve Bonnano (HU) def. Karim Shafi (Penn), 15-0 (3:58) Hofstra leads, 5-0
133 – #13 Bryan Ortenzio (Penn) def. #27 Jamie Franco (HU), 4-2 Hofstra leads, 5-3
141 – Luke Vaith (HU) def. #11 Zack Kemmerer (Penn), 2-1 TB Hofstra leads, 8-3
149 – #30 Justin Accordino (HU) def. #25 Steve Robertson (Penn) FALL 4:49 Hofstra leads, 14-3
157 – Tyler Banks (HU) def. Troy Hernandez (Penn), 4-0 Hofstra leads, 17-3
165 – #15 P.J. Gillespie (HU) def. #29 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn), 2-1 Hofstra leads, 20-3
174 – Ian Korb (Penn) def. Jermaine John (HU), 4-0 Hofstra leads, 20-6
184 – #12 Ben Clymer (HU) def. #31 Erich Smith (Penn), 4-1 Hofstra leads, 23-6
197 – #8 Micah Burak (Penn) def. Tim Murphy (HU), 11-2 Hofstra leads, 23-10
285 – Steve Graziano (Penn) def. Paul Snyder (HU), 7-2 Hofstra wins, 23-13