ITHACA, N.Y. – The third-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team made its dual-meet debut on Wednesday evening, dispatching an Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference (ECWC) foe in the Rochester Institute of Technology by a 42-3 score at Ben Light Gymnasium. The victory gives the Bombers a 1-0 start to dual-meet competition, while it drops the Tigers' dual-meet record to 2-1 on the year.
 
The Bombers were relentless in executing their attacking style to perfection. Ithaca scored victories in nine of the 10 bouts, with seven of those wins earning bonus points for the team in the lopsided match. The win marked Ithaca's at least 14^th consecutive win in the series dating back to 2003-04.
 
125 LB| Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) def. Andrew Flanagan (RIT) TF (7:00) 20-5
133 LB| Jimmy Kaishian (ITHACA) def. Isaiah Ocasio (RIT) MD 16-5
141 LB| Bryan Israel (ITHACA) wins by forfeit
149 LB| Demitri D'Orsaneo (ITHACA) def. Cole Murphy (RIT) MD 21-9
157 LB| Anthony Fano (ITHACA) def. Coty Lutz (RIT) TF (4:11) 18-1
165 LB| Al Ciccitto (ITHACA) def. Tommy Follman (RIT) Fall (0:38)
174 LB| Joe Lupisella (RIT) def. Nick Vogel (ITHACA) DEC 7-3
184 LB| Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. Nicholas Greenquist (RIT) MD 13-4
197 LB| Carlos Toribio (ITHACA) def. Tim Baumer (RIT) TF (4:33) 20-2
285 LB| Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. Sam Weigner (RIT) DEC 3-2
 
125 LB
Ithaca got its dominant night started right out of the gates at 125-pounds, as Ferdinand Mase picked up a 20-5 technical fall win over RIT's Andrew Flanagan. The jump-started IC to an early 5-0 advantage in the match.
 
Mase opened the first period with a takedown just 20 seconds in, while he built up the riding time to 1:13 before cutting Flanagan loose. With 30 seconds remaining in the period, the IC wrestler flipped Flanagan for a takedown and turned the Tigers' man into the cradle for four-near fall points as time expired to up the advantage to 8-1.
 
Mase scored quick escape in period two to build his lead to 9-1, before widening the gap with another takedown as 50 seconds remained in the second. He turned Flanagan back into the cradle to rack-up four more near-fall points as time expired in the second.
 
The third period got off to a heated start, after Mase allowed Flanagan a quick early escape. Despite an insurmountable deficit, RIT's wrestler showed strong resolve in taking the IC sophomore to the mat for two points; however, Mase added a pair of takedowns to seal up the 20-5 technical fall.
 
133 LB
Wrestling up a weight-class for the second time in as many competitions, Jimmy Kaishian continued to go on the offensive against RIT's Isaiah Ocasio. The aggressive push helped the IC senior jump out to a 6-1 advantage in the first period, twice reversing position on Ocasio for points. The senior built up 50 seconds in riding time as the period concluded.
 
Kaishian quickly scored an escape in period two, before attacking Ocasio for a single leg takedown. He then rolled Ocasio into the cradle for four more near-fall points, before the RIT grappler scored a reversal as time expired in the period. The gap sat at 13-3 heading into the third period.
 
Kaishian again took to the offensive early in the third, as he scored another takedown in coasting to a 16-5 major decision. The win bolstered Ithaca's lead to 9-0 in the match.
 
149 LB
After Ithaca's Bryan Israel ran unopposed at 141-pounds to build Ithaca's lead to 15-0, Demitri D'Orsaneo hit the mat for the 149-pound bout against the Tigers' Cole Murphy. Seeing his first action of the season, D'Orsaneo looked to be in midseason form in setting the tone with a fantastic first period.
 
He scored a takedown just under 20 seconds into the opening frame and went on to add a two-point near-fall before cutting RIT's Cole Murphy loose. The Ithaca sophomore added three more takedowns, to take a 10-3 lead into period two.
 
D'Orsaneo kept the momentum going in second frame, scoring a quick escape from his down position. He took Murphy to the mat for a takedown midway through the period and added another two points on a near-fall to open up a 15-4 advantage into the final period.
 
Ithaca's sophomore allowed Murphy to escape early in the third, before adding two more takedowns to his impressive debut performance. The 3:09 of riding time advantage lifted D'Orsaneo to a 21-9 major decision. The victory upped Ithaca's lead to 19-0 in the match.
 
157 LB
Anthony Fano followed the example of his predecessors with another impressive first period to secure a huge early lead in his 157-pound bout against RIT's Coty Lutz. The IC junior scored an early takedown and twice turned Lutz for four-point near-falls to build up a 10-0 advantage. After setting Lutz free with under 30 seconds left in the frame, Fano again took the RIT grappler to the mat for two more points to increase the lead to 12-1 as time expired.
 
Fano began the second period in the down position and scored an escape to make the score 13-1. He wasted little time in driving Lutz back to the mat for a four-point near-fall that ended the bout in an 18-1 technical fall with 49-seconds remaining in the middle period.
 
165 LB
Ithaca clinched the match in the 165-pound bout, as breakout freshman Al Ciccitto made quick work of RIT's Tommy Follman. Despite wrestling up a weight-class for the second time this season, the IC rookie wasted little time in asserting himself against the Tigers' 165-pound man.
 
Ciccitto dropped Follman to the mat just 11 seconds into his bout. After a short struggle, he was able to drive both shoulders to the mat for the only victory by fall on the night just 38-seconds into the opening period.
 
The victory upped Ithaca's lead to 30-0 in the match, clinching it in favor of the Bombers.
 
174 LB
Ithaca's lone blemish on the evening came at 174 pounds, as RIT's Joe Lupisella was able to dispatch IC's Nick Vogel in a 7-3 decision.
 
Vogel was able to get into some advantageous positions against the Tigers' 174-pounder, but each time his attacks were repelled by Lupisella. Vogel managed three escape points, but was unable to mount the comeback.
 
184 LB
Ashcraft piggy-backed off his 184-pound title performance at the New Standard Spartan Invite this past weekend with another excellent outing this evening. He got off to a dominant start to his bout against RIT's Nicholas Greenquist, notching a takedown shortly after the opening whistle and turning RIT's man into the cradle for four-near fall points. He would take the 6-0 lead and 1:37 of riding time advantage into the middle frame.
 
Ithaca's second-year talent added to his lead in period two. Starting in the down position, he scored a quick escape and staved off repeated advances by the Tiger's wrestler. Ashcraft added a late-period takedown to widen the gap to 9-0, before allowing Greenquist to get on the board with an escape.
 
Ashcraft finished off the major decision win in the third period, adding an escape and another takedown. The bout finished 13-4 after riding time advantage.
 
197 LB
Back in action following a weekend off at the Spartan Invite, Carlos Toribio jumped out to a big early lead in his 197-pound bout against RIT's Tim Baumer. He gained the upper hand with a takedown just 15 seconds into the bout, before building up the riding time near the one-minute mark.
 
After he was briefly reversed by Baumer to equalize the score, Toribio reversed the RIT grappler back to regain the 4-2 lead. The IC senior added a four-point near-fall as time expired in the opening period to make the gap 8-2 through three minutes.
 
Toribio continued to push the pace in period two. He scored an escape and again got in on Baumer's leg for a takedown to make the lead 11-2. Toribio twice flipped Baumer to his back for four-point near-falls to seal the bout with 27-seconds left in the middle frame. The 20-2 win marked the Bombers' third victory by technical fall in the meet.
 
285 LB
Jake O'Brien closed out the meet with a tightly contested 3-2 decision in the final bout of the night. Defense was the key word in this battle against Sam Weinger.
 
In fact, RIT's wrestler scored the only takedown of the match with a first period two-pointer. However, O'Brien was able to quickly escape to pull within 2-1.
 
Taking the down position to begin the middle frame, O'Brien again was able to escape before Weinger was able to build a significant riding time advantage. The second escape equalized the bout at 2-2.
 
O'Brien was on top to begin the third period. He executed a textbook ride to keep Weinger in his grasp the entirety of the final two minutes. The ride gave O'Brien the riding time point and the bout, as Ithaca closed out the 42-3 win.

Looking Ahead
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday, December 10, when the Bombers close out the 2016 portion of their schedule at Oswego State. The dual-meet is slated to begin at noon.