Hofstra to honor NCAA
champ Nick Gallo at halftime of home dual against Cornell on Sunday
Jim Sheehan Hofstra
02/03/2009
HEMPSTEAD, NY - Hofstra
Athletics will honor its only national wrestling champion Nick Gallo '78
this Sunday, February 8 at halftime of the 21st-ranked Pride's match
against third-ranked Cornell at the David S. Mack Sports Complex. Match
time is 5 p.m.
In an effort to acknowledge the outstanding accomplishments of numerous
former student-athletes during the University's nearly 75 years of
existence, Hofstra University announced last year that a group of 20
past Pride athletes will have their jersey numbers retired.
"The honoring of these 20 former student-athletes is a celebration of
the outstanding history of Hofstra Athletics," commented Hofstra
University Director of Athletics Jack Hayes.
Gallo, a three-time NCAA Championship qualifier, captured the 126-pound
national championship and was named the NCAA Championship's Most
Outstanding Wrestler in 1977. He earned All-America honors in 1975, by
placing fourth and 1977 with the national title. During his four years
at Hofstra Gallo recorded a 104-14 record. He was a silver medalist in
the 1980 World Cup, Pan American Trials Champion in 1979, and was a
contender for the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Teams.
In 1979, Gallo returned to Hofstra as the head wrestling coach and
proceeded to record a 49-25-0 record over the next four years including
East Coast Conference championships in 1980, 1982 and 1983. In his first
season he led the Pride to a 15-6 dual match record. A year later
Hofstra placed 26th at the NCAA Championships with only two
participants, Ed Pidgeon and Mike Hogan. In 1982 the Pride returned to
the top of the ECC with a 12-4 record and sent three wrestlers to the
national tournament. In his final year as coach Gallo led the Pride to a
13-3 mark, captured their third ECC title, sent five wrestlers to the
NCAA Championships and finished 24th in the country.
Gallo, who was inducted into the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006,
is also a member of the Suffolk Country Hall of Fame and received the
Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He
is currently the president of TW Promotions, the exclusive New York
metropolitan area distributor of the RESILITE wrestling mat and
protective wall padding line, and supplier of Asics products.
To purchase Hofstra wrestling tickets online for the Hofstra-Cornell
match, visit www.Hofstra.edu/athletics or call 516-HOF-TIXX (463-8499).
