The AU Eagles men’s wrestling team dropped a tough match against Hofstra University Jan. 25. The Hofstra Pride came out on top 21-9 in Hempstead, N.Y.
The match was closer than it appeared, with a number of AU wrestlers losing their individual bouts by just a few points.
"This match came down to the close bouts and we lost to many of them," Head Coach Teague Moore told AUEagles.com.
AU jumped out in the lead as Phillip Barreiro beat Hofstra’s Nick Terdick 7-5 at 165 pounds. Hofstra’s Jermaine John struck back by beating AU’s Keithen Cast 8-3 at 174 pounds. At 184 pounds, Thomas Barreiro beat Victor Pozsonyi 4-1 to give AU a 6-3 overall lead.
After that, it was all Hofstra, as the Pride reeled off five straight wins. At 197 pounds, Hofstra’s Tim Murphy beat AU’s Devon Bradley 6-3. In the heavyweight class, Paul Snyder beat Blake Herrin 3-1. At 125, Hofstra’s Steve Bonanno beat AU’s David Terao 13-6. Jamie Franco beat Esteban Gomez to win 133 pounds for Hofstra. Hofstra’s Luke Vaith, ranked 17th in the country, beat John Boyle 6-1 in the 141 class. The five victories gave the Pride an 18-6 lead.
Kevin Tao came up for a much-needed win for The Eagles at 149 pounds, winning a 7-4 decision over Cody Ruggirello. But Tyler Banks of Hofstra finished off a win for the pride by beating AU’s Mark Cirello 3-1 at 157 pounds to secure a 2-19 victory for the Pride.
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