Cornell Wins Key Matchups to Defeat Hofstra, 20-12
Cornell 20, Vs. Hofstra, 12
125- Mike Mormile (C) dec. Dave Tomasette (H), 3-1
133- No. 2 Travis Lee (C) major dec. No. 20 Charles Griffin (H), 18-7
141- Ricky LaForge (H) dec. Jordan Leen (C), 3-1
149- Dustin Manotti (C) major dec. Jon Masa (H), 16-3
157- James Strouse (H) dec. John Cholish (C), 3-0
165- Mike Patrovich (H) dec. Joey Hooker (C), 11-5
174- Joe Mazzurco (C) dec. Paul Siemon (H), 5-2
184- Tyler Baier (C) dec. Joe Rovelli (H), 5-0
197- Chris Skretkowicz (H) dec. Jerry Rinaldi (C), 5-0
HWT- Matt Bogumil (C) dec. Gian Villante (H), 5-2
By Ralph Carotenuto “Staff Writer
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Hempstead, NY – Two eastern wrestling powers met at Hofstra Arena on Long Island Saturday afternoon. The tenth-ranked Big Red of Cornell got the best of the No. 18 Hofstra Pride, 20-12.
After leading 14-12 through eight matches, Cornell sealed the victory with wins from seniors Joe Mazzurco and Tyler Baier to improve to 7-4 on the season. The Pride falls to 9-4 with the loss.
This closely contested battle has developed into quite a rivalry over the years between the two New York teams. Last season Hofstra defeated Cornell twice by the scores of 16-15 and 18-15. Going into Saturday’s match Hofsta had taken three of the last five meetings from the Big Red.
The key weights in this dual meet were 125, 174 and HWT. Nationally ranked Mike Mormile of Cornell narrowly defeated Hofstra’s Dave Tomasette on a last second takedown. At 174 two top twelve ranked wrestlers went head-to-head as #11 Mazzurco scored two takedowns and cruised to a 5-2 win over #12 Paul Siemon of Hofstra. An interesting side note to this match was that Mazzurco’s brother wrestled for Tom Ryan at Hofstra in the early 1990s.
Controversy surrounded the battle of the heavyweights. The referee awarded a suspect escape point to Hofstra’s Gian Villante to tie the score at 1-1 late in the third period. He then immediately hit Villante with a stalling point in what appeared to be a make up call. Cornell’s Matt Bogumil on the strength of subsequent takedown and riding time point went on to win 5-1.
Both coaches commented on the critical nature of those three matches.
“We won everyone of the close match ups, “stated Cornell head coach Rob Koll. “Even guys who lost like Jordan Leen wrestled well; 125, HWT and 174 were the key matches.”
Hofstra coach Tom Ryan was not happy with the results Saturday.
“I’m not happy with the team’s performance,” said Ryan. “You’ve got to train hard for a long time. We’ve been banged up since Christmas. We haven’t had the time to train. “
Ryan also mentioned that his team had been hit with a flu outbreak that may have impacted the performance of some wrestlers.
What was expected to be the most interesting matchup of the afternoon between Cornell’s top-ranked Dustin Manotti and Hofstra’s sixth-ranked Jon Masa at 149 turned out to be a rout. Manotti scored the opening takedown in the first period and then countered a throw attempt by Masa for five points. He also scored an additional three point near fall in the same sequence. From that point on Masa was out of contention and fell 16-3. At the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December Masa took Manotti into overtime before losing.
Manotti wrestled like a potential national champion and is riding high coming off his win over Oklahoma State’s top-ranked Zack Esposito at the National Duals.
“From the beginning of the year my goal was the national title,” said Manotti. “In the end it comes down to that tournament in March.”
Cornell’s three time All-American Travis Lee also looked impressive in his 18-7 major decision over Hofstra’s Charles Griffin. Lee did have a scare in the match when Griffin titled him to his back for a three point near fall in the third period. Lee spoke after the match about his training for the NCAAs.
“Hopefully I peak at the right time,” he said. “There’s a couple of things in practice that I need to work on, a couple of moves I need to tighten up. I’m not thinking about anyone in particular. I’ll just take it one match at a time. If you start thinking ahead that’s when you get beat. Upsets happen every year at the tournament.”
In another key match top-ranked Chris Skretkowicz of Hofstra dominated #10 Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell, scoring a takedown, reversal and more than three minutes of riding time in a 5-0 win.
The Cornell victory also snapped a six-match home winning streak for the Pride at the Hofstra Arena. Hofstra will return to action next Saturday, February 12th when they travel to Drexel University and Wagner College. On Sunday, February 13, the Pride will host top-ranked Oklahoma State at the Hofstra Arena in a morning match beginning at 10 a.m.
Cornell put the finishing touches on a solid weekend by spoiling Columbia’s homecoming, recording a 31-6 victory over the Lions at New York City’s University Gym Sunday. The win, its fourth in a row, keeps Cornell (8-4, 3-0 Ivy League) on top of the Ancient Eight while dropping Columbia to 4-3 and 1-2 respectively.
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