ITHACA, N.Y. – The third-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team made its much anticipated return to Ben Light Gymnasium on Friday evening, welcoming Nassau Community College for a dual meet on Senior Night. The Bombers pulled away early and cruised for a 42-3 victory over one of the top JUCO programs in the east, taking nine of 10 bouts on the evening.
 
Prior to the match, the program honored its six members graduating in the Class of 2018. Once things officially got underway, IC already knew it would have a sizeable lead once bouts began. Due to illness, Nassau was only able to field wrestlers in seven of the 10 scheduled bouts, conceding 18 team points to the nationally-ranked Bombers with junior Ferdinand Mase, junior Jake Ashcraft (3^rd NWCA | 3^rd d3wrestle.com) and sophomore Dalton Elias each receiving forfeits.
 
Already holding a 6-0 edge on the scoreboard with Mase's received forfeit at 125-pounds, sophomore Tito Colom wasted little time in adding to the IC lead. The Bombers 133-pound stalwart was aggressive, connecting on several first-period shots to race out to a healthy advantage over Nassau's Jorge Barreiro. Colom continued his momentum into the second period, in which he flipped the Lions' grappler to his back for a pin at 4:31, Colom's sixth victory by fall on the year.
 
Nationally-ranked Ben Brisman (4^th NWCA | 5^th d3wrestle.com) extended Ithaca's advantage to 15-0 through the first three bouts, scoring a 6-2 decision over John Arceri at 141-pounds. IC's breakout sophomore connected on a pair of early shots and scored a crucial escape to begin the third, earning his final point with 1:15 of riding time.
 
Nassau scored their lone victory of the match in a tightly contested 149-pound bout between Christopher Meloni and IC's Chris Wymer. The duo battled back-and-forth in a tactical low-scoring bout with Wymer leading 4-2 heading into the final period. Unfortunately, he was unable to hold onto the slim lead. Meloni started the final period on bottom and earned a quick escape, before scoring a takedown and riding out the period to score a 6-4 decision.
 
Junior Austin Whitney (9^th NWCA) turned the tide back in favor of the Bombers, flipping the script with a 6-4 victory by decision over Antonia LaRocca at 157-pounds. Whitney was much the aggressor against the lengthy LaRocca during the first two periods, scoring three takedowns to enter the final period with a healthy 6-1 advantage and over two minutes of riding time. Interestingly, LaRocca chose to start the period on top despite the deficit. Although Whitney was not able to make heads-or-tails of LaRocca's ride, three times getting docked for stalling during the final frame, the junior held on for the 6-4 triumph.
 
Senior Nick Velez (3^rd NWCA | 3^rd d3wrestle.com) sealed the match for IC with a dominant performance in his 165-pound bout against Nassau's Nicholas Provenzano. He scored two takedowns and two four-point near-falls, before locking in his sixth pin of the season at 4:51. The victory extended IC's lead to 24-3 with just two wrestled bouts to go.
 
Perhaps the most entertaining bout of the evening came at 174-pounds, as senior Jaison White (9^th NWCA) went toe-to-toe with Michael Abidin in an extremely close bout. With the match tied at 4-4 in the third period, White showcased his endurance and athleticism to score the decisive takedown in an excellent display of skill. He rode out the remaining 25-seconds of the period to score the 7-4 decision.
 
After forfeits received by Ashcraft and Elias at 184-pounds and 197-pounds, respectively, junior Jake O'Brien took the mat for the first time since NWCA National Duals. Despite conceding over 40 pounds to his opponent in Nassau's Jonathan Solorzano, O'Brien showcased his unbelievable strength in a dominant 7-3 decision.
 
Ithaca returns to action tomorrow morning when it welcomes Delaware Valley University to Ben Light Gymnasium for an 11:00 a.m. start.
 
No. 3/3 Ithaca College 42 – Nassau Community College 3
125 LB | Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) receives forfeit
133 LB | Tito Colom (ITHACA) def. Jorge Barreiro (NCC) | FALL: 4:31
141 LB | #4/5 Ben Brisman (ITHACA) def. John Arceri (NCC) | DEC: 6-2
149 LB | Christopher Meloni (NCC) def. Chris Wymer (ITHACA) | DEC: 6-4
157 LB | #9 Austin Whitney (ITHACA) def. Antonio LaRocca (NCC) | DEC: 6-4
165 LB | #3/3 Nick Velez (ITHACA) def. Nicholas Provenzano (NCC) | FALL: 4:51
174 LB | #9 Jaison White (ITHACA) def. Michael Abidin (NCC) | DEC: 7-4
184 LB | #3/3 Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) receives forfeit
197 LB | Dalton Elias (ITHACA) receives forfeit
285 LB | #5/3 Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. Jonathan Solorzano (NCC) | DEC: 7-3