COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's wrestling celebrated Senior Day on Saturday afternoon with a sweep over McDaniel College and Gettysburg College from Helfferich Hall.
 

The Bears defeated Gettysburg in their opener 34-9, before closing out the quad meet with a comeback victory over McDaniel, 22-20. With the victory, Ursinus closes out the 2023-24 season with a 10-2 overall dual meet record and a perfect 5-0 mark in Centennial Conference action.

 
Ursinus honored seven seniors prior to the meet as Shawn Marchesano, Dante Monaco, Jagger Clapsadle, Will Schwartz, Jackson Brandt, Jake Ahmad, and Frederick Greene were recognized prior to the contest for their dedication and commitment to the Men's Wrestling program over the last four seasons.

 
"The boys really stepped up today," Director of Wrestling Joe Jamison said. "We had some adversity in our match against McDaniel, but the big guys were able to come through and get the job done. Hats off to Sean Cowan and Jake Ahmad for getting bonus points when we really needed them."
 
 
Ursinus 34, Gettysburg 9

The Bears won seven of the ten bouts including five straight from 165lbs through 285lbs en route to the 34-9 decision. Senior Will Schwartz put the Bears on the board with a 4-3 decision at 125lbs to give Ursinus an early 3-0 lead. Gettysburg bounced back with decisions at 133lbs and 141lbs to regain a 6-3 lead through three matches. Ursinus answered during the next bout at 149lbs as senior Dante Monaco recorded a pinfall at the 3:49-mark to give the Bears a 9-6 advantage.
 

The Bullets responded at 157lbs as Gettysburg's Gavin Pascoe used an 11-9 comeback victory to tie the match at nine a piece with five matches remaining. The Bears bounced as they received five straight victories including four straight by bonus points to close out the match. Senior Shawn Marchesano collected a 21-2 technical fall over Gettysburg's Justin Richey at 165lbs. Meanwhile in the 174lb bout, first-year Sean Cowan tallied an 18-1 technical fall over Connor Hoefling to increase the Bears lead to 19-9.
 

Next, classmate Max Borton earned a pinfall at the 5:14-mark over Gettysburg's James Doliscar to extend the Bears lead to 25-9. AT 197lbs, sophomore Nils Updale recorded the fourth straight bonus point victory with a pinfall over Phil Nave at the 6:09-mark. Senior Jake Ahmad closed out the meet with a 6-4 decision over Gettysburg's Simon Taylor to give Ursinus a 34-9 victory over the Bullets.
 

Ursinus 22, McDaniel 20

The Green Terror jumped out to a commanding 17-7 lead, but it was Ursinus winning three of the final four bouts including a pinfall at 285lbs to seal the deal for the Bears. During the opening bout, junior Franzo Mazza put on a clinic earning a 15-6 major decision over Romeo Tsai to give Ursinus an early 4-0 advantage. After McDaniel recorded a 19-4 technical fall at 133lbs, first-year Andrew Schaen gave Ursinus a 7-5 lead with a 15-8 decision over McDaniel's Connor Bollinger at 141lbs.
 

McDaniel's nationally ranked 149-pounder Thomas Monn earned a 6-1 decision during the fourth bout, while an injury default at 157lbs for the Bears left them trailing 14-7 at the halfway point. After another McDaniel decision at 165lbs, Ursinus faced their largest deficit of the season in conference duals trailing 17-7. At 174lbs, Cowan used a dramatic pinfall over McDaniel's Dalton Pearl to bring the Bears within striking distance as they trailed 17-13. Cowan's victory marked his seventh consecutive victory and finishes his rookie season with a perfect 12-0 mark in dual meets. Ursinus brought their deficit to one after the 184lb bout, as classmate Max Borton earned a 5-0 decision over Valentino Pryor.

 
At 197lbs, McDaniel's Jaedyn Harris (Ranked 9^th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association) recorded a late escape to earn a 2-1 decision in TB-1 to increase the Green Terror's lead to 20-16 with one match remaining. In the finale, senior Jake Ahmad faced an early 3-0 deficit but reversed McDaniel's Kaden Bryan straight to his back and collected the pinfall at the 1:07-mark to give Ursinus the 22-20 victory.

 
Jamison later added, "Going 5-0 and winning the unofficial conference dual meet championship is fun, but we have to finish the job now. It means nothing unless we win this CC Championship tournament next weekend."

 
The Bears will rest up and return to action on Saturday, February 10^th as they will look to defend their Centennial Conference Championship from a season ago at McDaniel College on Saturday.