Springfield, Mass. -- December 8, 2010 -- With pins from Ryan McGilvray, Jeff Brodeur, and Ron Fusco, the Springfield College wrestling team, ranked #1 in New England Division III, opened its dual-meet season with a 48-0 victory this evening over WPI at SC's Blake Arena. With the win, the Pride is now 1-0, while WPI falls to 0-1.
Freshman Tom Casper (Bergenfield, N.J.) got matters off on the right foot for the Pride with a 4-1 victory in the 125-pound weight category over the Engineers' freshman Brian Jennings (Danbury, Conn.). It was one of the tougher matches of the night. But SC led by a 3-0 team score after that first bout.
At 133, junior Jesse Sgaglione (North Massapequa, N.Y.) accepted the first of two WPI forfeits to give SC a 9-0 lead.
Sophomore Gary Nevolis (Long Valley, N.J.) then captured a 3-1 win at 141 over senior Ken Adams (Wilmington, Mass.) in what was the night's closest match, making it 12-0.
Junior Ryan McGilvray (Manalapan, N.J.) made short work at the 149 class, pinning his opponent in 1:04 of the first period.
At 157, senior Steve Flathers (Stratford, Conn.) defeated WPI senior captain Tyler Howe (Danbury, Conn.), 9-4, and halfway through the match the team score was 21-0.
Senior John Archambeau (Ludlow, Mass.), who has been Springfield's best in the early season, winning two tournaments already, won by technical fall (15-0), and stretched the advantage to 26-0 at 165.
Senior Brandon Sundwall (Guilford, Conn.) accepted the second forfeit, giving SC a 32-0 lead at 174.
At 184, sophomore Nick Camera (North Massapequa, N.Y.) defeated WPI senior David Cardenas (Framingham, Mass.), 16-5.
That set the stage for two consecutive pins to end the match. At 197, Brodeur, a junior from Lanesboro, Mass., stepped up a weight to pin his opponent in 2:41. And finally, senior heavyweight Ron Fusco (Billerica, Mass.), who has won one tournament thus far this season, pinned his opponent in 2:26. That made the final, 48-0.
Springfield is now off until it competes at the Roger Williams Invitational one month from today on January 8.
Final Team Score -- Springfield 48, WPI 0
125 lbs. -- Tom Casper (SC) def. Brian Jennings (WPI), 4-1
133 lbs. -- Jesse Sgaglione (SC) -- wins by forfeit
141 lbs. -- Gary Nevolis (SC) def. Ken Adams (WPI), 3-1
149 lbs. -- Ryan McGilvray (SC) pins Matt Taber (WPI), 1:04
157 lbs. -- Steve Flathers (SC) def. Tyler Howe (WPI), 9-4
165 lbs. -- John Archambeau (SC) def. Tom LaCroix (WPI), 15-0
174 lbs. -- Brandon Sundwall (SC) -- wins by forfeit
184 lbs. -- Nick Camera (SC) def. David Cardenas (WPI), 16-5
197 lbs. -- Jeff Brodeur (SC) pins Dylan Billings (WPI), 2:41
Hwt. -- Ron Fusco (SC) pins Anthony Corbo (WPI), 2:26
Jason Holder will enter his third season as head wrestling coach in 2013. Holder had a standout first season at the helm of the Pride, leading Springfield to the NEWA Duals Championship and taking three wrestlers to the NCAA Championships.
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