Starting the match at 125 pounds, Hofstra’s ninth-ranked senior Dave Tomasette jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first period on the way to a 13-1 major decision over unranked Crimson freshman Dan Kelly. Tomasette improved to 10-3 on the season. At 133, sophomore Lou Ruggirello, the Pride’s second-ranked wrestler, improved to 13-2 on the season with a 17-2 tech fall victory over Harvard junior Thomas Picarsic. Hofstra senior Charles Griffin, ranked fifth in the country at 141 pounds, recorded the 100th victory of his Pride career with a 10-2 major decision over Crimson freshman Shay Warren. Griffin improved to 11-2 this season to boost the Hofstra lead in the match to 13-0.

Harvard got on the board at 149 pounds as the Crimson’s third-ranked sophomore J.P. O’Connor earned a hard-fought 4-2 decision over Hofstra sophomore Mitch Smith (0-6). O’Connor (10-1), who scored all of his points in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Smith posted an escape in the third and had O’Connor’s ankle in the waning seconds of the match but could not take him down to tie the match with O’Connor adding the riding time point.

Hofstra boosted its lead to 16-3 at 157 pounds as sophomore Jonny Bonilla-Bowman evened his record at 4-4 on the season with a 12-7 decision over Harvard senior Bobby Latessa (4-4). It was Bonilla-Bowman’s fourth victory in his last six matches. Pride freshman Ryan Patrovich improved to 7-5 on the year with a 6-0 blanking of Harvard senior Matt Button (5-4) at 165. Junior Alton Lucas, ranked 13th in the country at 174 pounds, remained undefeated on the season with an 8-3 victory over Harvard sophomore Frankie Colletta for a 22-3 advantage in the match.

The Crimson captured the next two matches as eighth-ranked junior Louis Caputo (5-2) pinned Hofstra freshman Justin Danz (5-7) in 4:26 at 184 pounds to close the deficit to 22-9. Senior Billy Colgan (2-1) rallied in the final minute to record a 10-7 victory over Hofstra junior Richard Vitale (1-3) to close to 22-12. The final match of the afternoon was the closest, if not the most exciting as Hofstra junior James Guerin (1-5) defeated Harvard sophomore Andrew Knapp (3-4), 6-4 in the second sudden victory period. Guerin tied the match at 3-3 in the third period with an escape. Each wrestler had an escape in the first overtime period before Guerin tallied a takedown with nine seconds remaining in the second sudden victory period.

Hofstra is now off for semester finals before they return for the 28-team Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, North Carolina on December 29-30.

Hofstra 25, Harvard 12

125- #9 Dave Tomasette (Hofstra) maj. Dan Kelly (Harvard), 13-1

133- #2 Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra) tech fall Thomas Picarsic (Harvard), 17-2

141- #5 Charles Griffin (Hofstra) maj. Shay Warren (Harvard), 10-2

149- #3 J.P. O’Connor (Harvard) dec. Mitch Smith (Hofstra), 4-2

157- Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (Hofstra) dec. Bobby Latessa (Harvard), 12-7

165- Ryan Patrovich (Hofstra) dec. Matt Button (Harvard), 6-0

174- #13 Alton Lucas (Hofstra) dec. Frankie Colletta (Harvard), 8-3

184- #8 Louis Caputo (Harvard) FALL Justin Danz (Hofstra), 4:26

197- Billy Colgan (Harvard) dec. Richard Vitale (Hofstra), 10-7