FORT WAYNE, Ind. – For the second consecutive season, the nationally-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team advanced to the semifinal round of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals. After dispatching No. 21 Centenary (N.J.) 34-4 in the opening bout of the day during the morning session, the fourth-ranked Bombers punched their ticket to tomorrow's semi's with a thrilling 31-10 come-from-behind victory over No. 6 Wisconsin-Whitewater during the afternoon period.
 
Showing little rust in a dominant effort against a tough Centenary squad during the morning, Ithaca faced its toughest test to-date when it took the mat against a UW-Whitewater outfit that was one of the hottest teams in the country coming into action on Thursday. The Warhawks entered the dual coming off three consecutive triumphs against top NCAA Division III competition, which included a 21-20 win over current-No. 1 Wartburg in early December and a 56-0 whitewashing of the University of Chicago during the morning session today. However, IC proved its mettle in running away with the dual against one of the nation's most talented teams.
 
This afternoon's dual marked the second straight year that the Bombers and Warhawks butted heads in the Quarterfinal Round of the NWCA National Duals. Last season was fraught with drama, as the Bombers scored bonus points in the final three bouts to evaporate a 15-7 deficit in a 23-15 win over UW-Whitewater. This afternoon's matchup of two Top-10 program's followed a similar blueprint, as the Warhawks jumped out to a 10-0 advantage only to have IC storm back to win the final seven bouts in the impressive 31-10 victory.
 
Ithaca suspected that it would be an uphill battle in the bout, as UW-Whitewater boasts serious talent in the lower weight classes with nationally-ranked grapplers in the Tortorice brothers at 125- and 141-pounds, as well as Hazen Rice at 133-pounds. Although IC did not score an upset during the early portion of the match, junior Ferdinand Mase and sophomores Tito Colom and Ben Brisman did well to mitigate the damage.
 
It actually looked as though IC was going to be the first team on the scoreboard, as Mase held a lead for the majority of the match against the Warhawks' Mike Tortorice (10^th d3wrestle.com). The IC junior led the matchup 7-4 deep into the second period, but Tortorice stormed back to take a 10-8 decision.
 
Whitewater's lone bonus-point victory came at 133-pounds, as Hazen Rice (9^th NWCA | 9^th d3wrestle.com) raced out to an early 6-0 advantage and rode it to a 13-1 major decision. The 141-pound bout featured red-hot Ben Brisman, who already had scored an upset over nationally-ranked Maxwell Nauta of Centenary during the morning session. Unfortunately, he was unable to land any shots during the afternoon, falling to Devin Tortorice (6^th d3wrestle.com) in an 8-1 decision.
 
The slow start dug a 10-0 hole, but the Bombers did not panic. The team turned to its reliable stopper in nationally-ranked Sammy Schneider (4^th NWCA, 4^th d3wrestle.com), who began a seven-bout winning run to close out the match in impressive fashion. Ithaca's talented sophomore led wire-to-wire in a 14-8 decision over Whitewater's scrappy Wilder Wichman to begin carving into the deficit.
 
In a major toss-up swing match at 157-pounds junior transfer Austin Whitney (10^th d3wrestle.com) scored a huge 5-4 decision with a late escape in the third period to keep IC's comeback momentum going. Senior captain Nick Velez (2^nd NWCA | 2^nd d3wrestle.com) took care of business with a 10-1 major decision over Ryder Sigler to even up the match at 10-all with four bouts remaining.
 
In another evenly matched battle at 174-pounds, senior Jaison White came up big to give Ithaca its first lead of the day. White connected on a pair of shots during the second period and held on down the stretch for an 8-6 decision over Nicholas Bonomo that jettisoned the Bombers to their first lead in the match at 13-10. Ithaca never looked back, scoring the maximum six points in each of the final three bouts to run away with the win.
 
Last year, it was Jake Ashcraft that began Ithaca's comeback run with a crucial fall in his 184-pound bout. The talented junior staunched out Whitewater's hope of flipping the script again in 2018, as Ashcraft (4^th NWCA | 5^th d3wrestle.com) scored his second first-period fall of the day and 12^th pin of the season to widen IC's lead to 19-10. He took Whitewater's Nick Stencel to his back in 2:44.
 
At the time, Ashcraft's three bonus points looked to be crucial, as the 197-pound matchup did not look favorable with IC freshman Dymir Davis-Carruth going against the nation's No. 1 197-pound grappler in Jordan Newman (1^st NWCA | 1^st d3wrestle.com). However, IC's rookie wrestled an excellent match to hold his own against the heavily favored Newman. Davis-Carruth trailed just 7-1 late into the third period, before Newman had to tap out with an injury, giving the IC rookie a six-point victory and the match clincher.
 
Junior heavyweight Jake O'Brien (5^th NWCA | 3^rd d3wrestle.com) put matters beyond doubt in the final bout of the day. He locked in his fall of the season in 1:01 over Dylan Uzumecki to round out the 31-10 victory.
 
Ithaca returns to the mat tomorrow morning when it is set to face the nation's No. 1 program in Wartburg College. The Knights punched their ticket to tomorrow's semifinals with a 46-3 triumph over Olivet and a 42-4 win over No. 11 Coe College in the Quarterfinal Round. Tomorrow's dual is set to begin at 11:00 a.m.
 
#4 Ithaca 31 - #6 Wisconsin-Whitewater 10
125 LB | No. 10 Mike Tortorice (WHITEWATER) def. Ferdinand Mase (ITHACA) | DEC: 10-8
133 LB | No. 9/9 Hazen Rice (WHITEWATER) def. Tito Colom (ITHACA) | MD: 13-1
141 LB | No. 6 Devin Tortorice (WHITEWATER) def. Ben Brisman (ITHACA) | DEC: 8-1
149 LB | No. 4/4 Sammy Schneider (ITHACA) def. Wilder Wichman (WHITEWATER) | DEC: 14-8
157 LB | No. 10 Austin Whitney (ITHACA) def. Isaiah Vela (WHITEWATER) | DEC: 5-4
165 LB | No. 2/2 Nick Velez (ITHACA) def. Ryder Sigler (WHITEWATER) | MD: 10-1
174 LB | Jaison White (ITHACA) def. Nicholas Bonomo (WHITEWATER) | DEC: 8-6
184 LB | No. 4/5 Jake Ashcraft (ITHACA) def. Nick Stencel (WHITEWATER) | FALL: 2:44
197 LB | Dymir Davis-Carruth (ITHACA) def. No. 1/1 Jordan Newman (WHITEWATER) | MFFT
285 LB | No. 5/3 Jake O'Brien (ITHACA) def. Dylan Uzumecki (WHITEWATER) | FALL: 1:01