ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College wrestling team hosted the Ithaca Duals on Saturday, Jan. 29, with The College of New Jersey and No. 20 Stevens Institute of Technology. The team went 0-2 on the day, but  several Bombers had strong individual performances.
 
Ithaca 16 – No. 16 The College of New Jersey 25
 
125 LB: Ryan Rosenthal (TCNJ) def. Matt Haycook (ITH) | Dec 8-2 (0-3)
133 LB: Luis Hernandez (ITH) def. Kyle Nase (TCNJ) | Fall 0:43 (6-3)
141 LB: Domenic Difrancescantonio (TCNJ) def. Travis Jones (ITH) | Fall 2:07 (6-9)
149 LB: Matthew Beyer (ITH) def Michael Conklin (TCNJ) | Dec 7-2 (9-9)
157 LB: Matt Sacco (TCNJ) def Adam Wagner (ITH) | Dec 9-6 (9-12)
165 LB: Jackson Gray (ITH) def. Matt Surich (TCNJ) | MD 13-5 (13-12)
174 LB: Reid Colella (TCNJ) def. Adrian Rosario-Beato (ITH) | Fall 5:33 (13-18)
184 LB: Eze Chukwuezi (ITH) def. Daniel Surich (TCNJ) | Dec 8-2 (16-18)
197 LB: Quinn Haddad (TCNJ) def. Jeremy Mazzella (ITH) | MD 13-1 (16-22)
285 LB: Thomas Marretta (TCNJ) def. Edwin Rubio (ITH) | Dec 4-1 (16-25)
 
Despite a close first half of the dual meet, Ithaca fell to TCNJ 25-16 after losing three of the final four matches. The Bombers and Lions battled back and forth for the lead in the first  six matches of the dual, however, Ithaca could not maintain its lead for long. The Bombers lost it in the 165 lb. match and were unable to regain it again.
 
Junior Luis Hernandez started his undefeated day off quickly with a pin in the first 43 seconds of the 133 lb. match versus Kyle Nase. Junior Matthew Beyer gave the Bombers their second win of the day with a 7-2 decision, which tied things up for Ithaca and TCNJ at 9-9.
 
After a loss in the 157 lb. match that gave TCNJ a brief lead, sophomore Jackson Gray took the lead right back for the Bombers after beating Matt Surich by a 13-5 major decision at the 165 lb. weight class that put the team up by one point. Unfortunately, the lead did not last for long.
 
Sixth-ranked Eze Chukwuezi also went undefeated on the day. Despite starting with a 2-0 deficit at the start of the 184 lb. match versus TCNJ's Daniel Surich, Chucwuezi bounced back quickly and never turned back, winning the match in an 8-2 decision, but his win was not enough to bring the Bombers back on top, as they continued to trail 16-18.
 
Ithaca 14 – #20 Stevens Institute of Technology 26
 
125 LB: Akhil Vega (ST) def. Matt Haycook (ITH) | Inj. 3:43 (0-6)
133 LB: Luis Hernandez (ITH) def. Luke Hoerle (ST) | Dec 7-5 (3-6)
141 LB: Kyle Slendorn (ST) def. Travis Jones (ITH) | MD 17-6 (3-10)
149 LB: Brett Kaliner (ST) def. Matthew Beyer (ITH) | MD 14-8 (3-13)
157 LB: Hunter Gutierrez (ST) def. Adam Wagner (ITH) | Dec 7-3 (3-16)
165 LB: Nick Boggiano (ST) def. Jackson Gray (ITH) | MD 13-4 (3-20)
174 LB: Frank Medina (ST) def. Adrian Rosario-Beato (ITH) | Fall 2:22 (3-26)
184 LB: Eze Chukwuezi (ITH) def. Joel Martsinovsky (ST) | Dec 10-4 (6-26)
197 LB: Jeremy Mazzella (ITH) def. Max Ruiz (ST) | MD 13-5 (10-26)
285 LB: Edwin Rubio (ITH) def. Joseph Russell (ST) | MD 8-0 (14-26)
 
Unlike his quick pin earlier in the day, Hernandez picked up his second win in a long battle against Stevens' Luke Hoerle by a 7-5 decision.

After Hernandez's win, the Bombers struggled against Stevens in the next five bouts. Junior Adam Wagner fell by a 7-3 decision in a hard-fought match against Hunter Gutierrez at 157 lbs.
 
Chukwuezi broke the streak and won again at 184 lbs. against Joel Martinovsky in a 10-4 decision. Sophomore Jeremy Mazzella and graduate student Edwin Rubio followed suit with wins in the 197 and 285 lb. weight classes.
 
Mazzella redeemed himself from a 13-1 major decision loss against TCNJ's Quinn Haddad and beat Stevens' Max Ruiz in a 13-5 major decision. Rubio also bounced back from both a loss and medical forfeit earlier in the day to give the Bombers a win to end the day. He won in an 8-0 major decision against Stevens' Joseph Russell. However, Ithaca ultimately lost to Stevens 14-26.
 
The Bombers return to the mats next Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Tri-Meet at Oneonta against Wesleyan University, Williams College and SUNY Oneonta.