Washington, D.C. - The Hofstra wrestling team picked up its first wins of the season from Washington, D.C. as the Pride won 25-19 over Duke and 27-13 against American from the Bender Arena. Hofstra improves to 2-2 overall on the year, and the Pride earns its first EIWA win of the season against the Eagles.

The Pride started today's action against Duke at 10 a.m., and started off with the first points of the afternoon courtesy of #26 Charles Small (184), #28 Trey Rogers (197) and #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (285), Hofstra's three wrestlers ranked in the InterMat rankings. Small defeated Vincent Baker by 4-3 decision, Rogers decisioned Kaden Russell with a 7-4 score, and Knighton-Ward pinned Jonah Niesenbaum at 2:18, putting Hofstra ahead 12-0 early in the match.

After losses at 125 and 133 pounds, Justin Hoyle stepped onto the mat and won by 10-1 major decision over Patrick Rowland to put Hofstra up, 16-9. The Blue Devils scored five points from a tech fall win at 149 pounds, but Joe McGinty came back from a 7-2 deficit in his 157-pound match to win, 11-9, in sudden victory overtime against Wade Under.

Hofstra received points following Duke's forfeit of 165 pounds, and the match concluded with #7 Matt Finesilver winning by tech fall of Corey Langner at 174 pounds.

After an hour-plus break, Hofstra took to the mat against American in the EIWA opener for both sides. The Pride once again jumped out to an early lead thanks to wins from Small (MD 13-4), Rogers (pin, 5:19), and Knighton-Ward (5-2). The Eagles responded with wins at 125 and 133 pounds, and Hoyle picked up his second win of the day with a 10-4 decision at 141, giving Hofstra a 16-9 lead

American scored four points with a major decision win at 149, the Pride won the final three matches of the afternoon. McGinty won by 7-2 decision, and Stamm fought off multiple late takedown attempts before scoring one point for an escape to win 2-1 in the second tiebreaker period. Ross McFarland hit the mat for Hofstra at 174 and scored a tech fall win of 18-3, giving Hofstra wins in seven of 10 weights.

American and Duke also wrestled in the second of today's three matches, and American defeated Duke, 22-18.

Hofstra will return to competition with a dual on Thursday, December 9, against Brown in EIWA action. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. from inside the Pizzitola Sports Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

NOTES:
-Hofstra improves to 1-1 against Duke and 12-4 against American all-time.
-There was also a total of four matches that did not count towards the team score. With a 5-4 decision, Dylan Acevedo-Switzer was the only Hofstra wrestler to win an extra match.
-Four of Knighton-Ward's last five wins were by decision.
-Today's win over American was the second time in three seasons that Hofstra won its EIWA opener.

Hofstra 25, Duke 19
184: #26 Charles Small (HOF) dec. Vincent Baker (DU), 4-3
197: #28 Trey Rogers (HOF) dec. Kaden Russell (DU), 7-4
285: #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (HOF) WBF Jonah Niesenbaum (DU), 2:18
125: Logan Agin (DU) WBF Jacob Moon (HOF), 0:55
133: Drake Doolittle (DU) dec. Ty Cymmerman (HOF), 8-2
141: Justin Hoyle (HOF) maj. dec. Patrick Rowland (DU), 10-1
149: #11 Josh Finesilver tech fall Michael Leandrou (HOF), 19-4
157: Joe McGinty (HOF) dec. Wade Unger (DU), 11-9 (SV-1)
165: Ricky Stamm (HOF) win by forfeit
174: #7 Matt Finesilver (DU) tech fall Corey Langner (HOF), 15-0
Extra Matches
125: Dylan Acevedo-Switzer (HOF) dec. Ty Naquin (DU), 5-4
174: Conor Becker (DU) maj. dec. Ericson Velasquez (HOF), 11-0
174: Luke Chakonis (DU) tech fall James Watterson (HOF), 16-0
 
Hofstra 27, American 13
184: #26 Charles Small maj. dec. Ben Root (AU), 13-4
197: #28 Trey Rogers (HOF) WBF Carsten Rawls (AU), 5:39
285: #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward dec. Isaac Righter (AU), 5-2
125: Max Leete (AU) dec. Jacob Moon (HOF), 4-1
133: Jack Maida (AU) WBF Ty Cymmerman (HOF), 1:54
141: Justin Hoyle (HOF) dec. Ethan Szerencsits (AU), 10-4
149: Patrick Ryan maj. dec. Michael Leandrou (HOF), 10-2
157: Joe McGinty (HOF) dec. Antonio Segura (AU), 7-2
165: Ricky Stamm (HOF) dec. Tim Fitzpatrick, 2-1 (TB2)
174: Ross McFarland (HOF) tech fall Colin Shannon (AU), 18-3
Extra Matches
141: Shamil Kalmatov (AU) maj. dec. Mario Biancamano (HOF), 12-1