FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 2 Ithaca College wrestling team rang in the New Year with a bang on Thursday, scoring a pair of victories on the opening day of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Bombers defeated Augustana College (Ill.) 27-16 in the opening match of the day, while they stormed back to defeat No. 18 Wisconsin-Whitewater in the afternoon session in a 23-15 thriller.
 
With the two victories, the Bombers move on to the semifinal round of the event, set to begin at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. The second-ranked Bombers will face their sternest test of the season to-date, as they take on No. 3 Augsburg College (Minn.). The Auggies dispatched No. 22 Ferrum College 34-9 in their quarterfinal matchup to advance to the second day.
 
No. 2 Ithaca College 27 – Augustana College (Ill.) 16
 
125 LB | Jimmy Kaishian (ITHACA) def. Trenton Jackson (AUGUSTANA) MD 11-3
133 LB | Freddy Terranova (AUGUSTANA) def. Tito Colom (ITHACA) MD 15-5
141 LB | Nick Wahba (ITHACA) def. Brendan Gould (AUGUSTANA) MD 14-3
149 LB | Sammy Schneider (ITHACA) def. Matt Sears (AUGUSTANA) MD 11-3
157 LB | Josh Bush (AUGUSTANA) def. Demitri D'Orsaneo (ITHACA) DEC 8-6
165 LB | Nick Velez (ITHACA) def. Trace Timmons (AUGUSTANA) TF 16-0
174 LB | Jaison White (ITHACA) def. Bo Bauer (AUGUSTANA) MD 16-6
184 LB | Christos Giatras (AUGUSTANA) def. Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) DEC 9-3
197 LB | Carlos Toribio (ITHACA) def. Ethan Benoit FALL (0:41)
285 LB | Adarios Jones (AUGUSTANA) wins by forfeit
 
Ithaca opened the day with its most difficult dual-meet test of the year thus far when it took on a scrappy outfit from Augustana College. The Bombers passed the initial test with flying colors, scoring victories in six weight classes with all six of those wins earning bonus points in the 27-16 victory.
 
The two sides split the opening two bouts to enter the 141-pound bout tied at 4-4. Ithaca's Jimmy Kaishian (7^th NWCA, 7^th d3wrestle.com) got the Bombers up and running with a comfortable 11-3 major decision victory over Augustana's Trenton Jackson. However, the lead was short-lived, as Freddy Terranova (10^th NWCA, 9^th d3wrestle.com) scored four points for the Vikings with a 15-5 major decision over IC's Tito Colom at 133 pounds.
 
The Bombers took a lead they would not relinquish in the following two bouts to widen the advantage. Nick Wahba (5^th NWCA, 4^th d3wrestle.com) controlled things from the outset of his 141-pound bout against Brendan Gould. The senior defeated the Vikings' 141-pounder in a 14-3 major to reestablish the four-point edge in the match in favor of Ithaca. Rookie grappler Sammy Schneider (2^nd NWCA, 3^rd d3wrestle.com) kept the string of majors going with an 11-3 triumph over Augustana's Matt Sears to Ithaca's lead to 12-4.
 
The Vikings scratched three points back at 157 pounds when Josh Bush rallied back from a 6-2 third-period deficit to defeat Ithaca's Demitri D'Orsaneo in an 8-6 decision. However, Ithaca blew things open over the following two bouts. Nick Velez (4^th NWCA, 7^th d3wrestle.com) dominated his 165-pound matchup against Augustana's Trace Timmons in a 16-0 (3:00) technical fall. Jaison White followed with a 16-6 major decision victory over Bo Bauer to push IC's lead to 21-7.
 
Although the Vikings staved off defeat with Christos Giatros besting Ithaca's Jake Ashcraft (10^th d3wrestle.com) in a 9-3 decision at 184 pounds, IC locked things up in the subsequent bout. Senior captain Carlos Toribio (6^th NWCA, 7^th d3wrestle.com) made quick work of Augustana's Ethan Benoit, scoring the only pin-fall of the match just 41 seconds into the opening period.
 
The victory launched the Bombers into the quarterfinal round and a date against No. 18 Wisconsin-Whitewater during the afternoon session.
 
No. 2 Ithaca College 23 – No. 18 Wisconsin-Whitewater 15
 
125 LB | Zac Denny (UW-WHITEWATER) def. Jimmy Kaishian (ITHACA) DEC 5-3
133 LB | Joe Brodman (UW-WHITEWATER) def. Tito Colom (ITHACA) DEC 5-3
141 LB | Devin Tortorice (UW-WHITEWATER) def. Nick Wahba (ITHACA) DEC 3-1
149 LB | Sammy Schneider (ITHACA) def. Adam Becker (UW-WHITEWATER) DEC 11-4
157 LB | Austin Quartullo (UW-WHITEWATER) def. Anthony Fano (ITHACA) DEC 7-5
165 LB | Nick Velez (ITHACA) def. Ryder Sigler (UW-WHITEWATER) MD 9-1
174 LB | Nicholas Bonomo (UW-WHITEWATER) def. Jaison White (ITHACA) DEC 12-6
184 LB | Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. Nick Sundberg (UW-WHITEWATER) FALL (4:18)
197 LB | Carlos Toribio (ITHACA) def. Nick Graziano (UW-WHITEWATER) TF 16-0
285 LB | Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. Jordan Festge (UW-WHITEWATER) TF 16-0
 
Facing its first test against a nationally-ranked opponent in dual meet competition this season, the Bombers answered the bell with a thrilling finish in its quarterfinal round match against No. 18 Wisconsin-Whitewater. Trailing for the entirety of the match, Ithaca came up with clutch performances down the stretch to overcome a nine-point deficit in dispatching the Warhawks 23-15.
 
Wisconsin-Whitewater entered the afternoon session riding a wave of momentum after scoring a mild upset of No. 12 Coe College in its first match of the day. The Warhawks raced out to an early advantage with victories in four of the first five bouts.
 
The action started with a marquee matchup between two Top-10 grapplers, as Kaishian met Zac Denny (2^nd NWCA, 2^nd d3wrestle.com) in the 125-pound matchup. Although Kaishian scored an early lead, Denny came back and scored a late takedown to win the bout in a 5-3 decision.
 
The Warhawks built on the lead over the next two matchups to extend the advantage to 9-0. Joe Brodman bested Ithaca's Tito Colom in another hard-fought 5-3 decision. Wisconsin-Whitewater also picked up a huge result at 141-pounds when Devin Tortorice scored the upset over nationally-ranked Nick Wahba.
 
Schneider got Ithaca finally on the board at 149 pounds when he downed Adam Becker in an 11-4 decision. However, the momentum was short-lived, as the Warhawks reestablished the nine-point edge at 157 pounds. Seeing his first action of the day, Anthony Fano battled hard against Austin Quartullo, but Wisconsin-Whitewater's man scored a late takedown in a 7-5 decision.
 
Facing the team's first true adversity of the year, Ithaca responded with excellent resiliency down the stretch, starting with its 165-pound bout. Nick Velez controlled matters from the outset in a solid 9-1 major decision win against Ryder Sigler. However, the pesky Warhawks against stymied IC from making a run, as Nicholas Bonomo (10^th d3wrestle.com) notched a 12-6 decision over Ithaca's White at 174 pounds to make the score 15-7 with three bouts to go.
 
With backs firmly against the wall, Ithaca came up with three clutch performances down the stretch. IC racked up three victories, all scoring bonus points, to win the match 23-15.
 
Jake Ashcraft started the run at 184-pounds, scoring a huge victory by second-period pin-fall against Nick Sundberg. The win suddenly shaved Ithaca's deficit to just two points at 15-13. Carlos Toribio continued his dominant day with another 16-0 technical fall victory against Nick Graziano. The win gave the Bombers their first lead of the match at 18-15, setting up a decisive final bout for 285-pounder Jake O'Brien (10^th d3wrestle.com). The IC grappler eliminated any chance early in the bout, running up another 16-0 technical fall victory over Wisconsin-Whitewater's Jordan Festge.
 
Looking Ahead
Ithaca returns to the mat tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. when it meets No. 3 Augsburg College (Minn.) in the semifinal round of the tournament. No. 1 Wartburg (Iowa) meets No. 6 Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in the other semifinal matchup.