CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – First-year Dom Mata, sophomore Nick Marcenelle, junior Dillon Murphy, and senior Lukus Stricker all tallied pins as Harvard University wrestling topped Sacred Heart University, 39-6, on Saturday afternoon at the Malkin Athletic Center.
 
Completing its first home weekend of competition in over 700 days, the Crimson (1-1, 1-1 EIWA) won eight of the dual's 10 matches, including six bonus-point victories, on its way to the win over the visiting Pioneers (1-3, 1-2 EIWA).
 
Alongside falls from Mata, Marcenelle, Murphy, and Stricker, first-year Kenny Herrmann notched a technical fall, junior Beau Bayless tallied a major decision, and first-year Alex Whitworth and junior Mike Doggett each earned wins via decision. Stricker went 2-0 on the weekend.
 
After SHU won the meet's first match-up at 157 pounds, Harvard took four straight bouts to move ahead 18-3 in the team score, including pins from Mata and Marcenelle at 184 and 197 pounds respectively. The Crimson then closed the meet with four straight victories including pins from Murphy and Stricker at 133 and 149 pounds respectively. 

Harvard Highlights

• First-year Dom Mata posted the Crimson's first pin of the day with a fall at 0:29 at 184 pounds over Sebastian Ford. Mata posted his third fall of the season and fastest fall of the year. He improved to 8-3 on the season.
• Sophomore Nick Marcenelle notched his team-leading fourth fall of the year with a pin in 4:04 at 197 pounds. His fall gave the Crimson an 18-3 lead in the team score at the midway point in the match. He improved to 9-6 on the season with the win.
• Junior Dillon Murphy tallied a fall in 6:46 at 133 pounds over John Lafferty. He registered his second fall of the season and fifth win of the year. His win gave Harvard a 28-6 edge in the team score.
• Senior Lukus Stricker completed a 2-0 weekend with a fall in 1:21 at 149 pounds in the dual's final match. Stricker posted his first fall of the season and bettered his season record to 11-7 with his pair of weekend wins.
• First-year Kenny Herrmann scored a 16-0 technical fall win over Jordan Carlucci in 4:22 at 141 pounds. His second technical fall of the year gave the Crimson a 33-6 advantage in the team score. Hermann improved to 7-4 on the year with the win.
• Junior Beau Bayless recorded a 10-1 major decision over Jacob Venezia at 125 pounds, providing the Crimson a 22-6 lead in the team score. Bayless posted his third major decision of the season and moved to 9-7 on the year with the victory.
• First-year Alex Whitworth earned a 3-2 win over Scott Jarosz at 165 pounds. Whitworth scored an escape in the second period and a takedown in the third stanza on his way to the win.
• Junior Mike Doggett notched a 4-2 victory at 174 pounds over Ryan Bolletino. In his fifth win of the season, Doggett scored a 4-point near fall in the second period en route to the victory.
• Harvard improved to 6-2 all-time against Sacred Heart. 

Harvard 39, Sacred Heart 6
157: Nick Palumbo (S) def. Trevor Tarsi (H), Dec. 3-2 (Sacred Heart 3-0)
165: Alex Whitworth (H) def. Scotty Jarosz (S), Dec. 3-2 (Tied 3-3)
174: Mike Doggett (H) def. Ryan Bolletino (S), Dec. 4-2 (Harvard 6-3)
184: Dom Mata (H) def. Sebastian Ford (S), Fall 0:29 (Harvard 12-3)
197: Nick Marcenelle (H) def. Logan Michael (S), Fall 4:04 (Harvard 18-3)
285: Nick Copley (S) def. Jeffrey Crooks (H), Dec. 7-2 (Harvard 18-6)
125: Beau Bayless (H) def. Jacob Venezia (S), MD 10-1 (Harvard 22-6)
133: Dillon Murphy (H) def. John Lafferty (S), Fall 6:46 (Harvard 28-6)
141: Kenny Herrmann (H) def. Jordan Carlucci (S), TF 16-0 4:22 (Harvard 33-6)
149: Lukus Stricker (H) def. Cole McGill (S), Fall 1:21 (Harvard 39-6)
 
Extra Matches
141: Michael Jaffe (H) def. Chris Naegele (S), MD 18-10
157: Cael Berg (H) def. Joey Cyr (S), Fall 1:42
184: Luke Rada (H) def. Michael Molina (S), TF 16-0 2:40

Next Up

Harvard competes at No. 9 Cornell in its Ivy League opener on Jan. 22 at 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+) prior to returning home to host a pair of Ivy opponents in Princeton (Jan. 28) and Penn (Jan. 29).