COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Behind an impressive showing, the No. 25 Ursinus men's wrestling team went 3-1 while hosting the Manganaro Duals on Saturday.
The Bears earned victories over Roger Williams (36-12), the University of Southern Maine (46-3) and Rhode Island College (51-6), but fell to Alvernia University (22-21).
No. 25 Ursinus 36, Roger Williams 12
After splitting the first four bouts, Ursinus won five of the final six matches to secure a 36-12 victory over Roger Williams. Sophomore
Blaise Verdino picked up a 12-4 major decision at 133 pounds to give Ursinus a 4-3 match lead through two bouts.
Next, junior
Andrew Schaen (141) recorded three takedowns en route to a 16-1 technical fall victory. The Hawks earned a decision at 149 pounds, but junior
Braden Kmak tallied a first-period fall over Johnathan Fabrizio to extend the Bears' lead to 15-6.
Roger Williams collected a fall at 165 pounds to cut the deficit to 15-12, but Ursinus responded with four straight bonus-point victories to close out the match. Senior
Anthony Cerulli recorded a second-period fall at 174 pounds, while senior
Nils Updale (184) extended the lead to 25-12 with a 13-2 major decision.
Junior
Sean Cowan earned a fall at the 2:28 mark at 197 pounds, and classmate
Mohamed Abdelatty closed the meet with a 19-3 technical fall victory.
No. 25 Ursinus 46, University of Southern Maine 3
The Bears dropped the opening bout at 125 pounds but rallied with nine straight victories — eight by bonus points and five by pin — to earn a 46-3 win. At 133 pounds, Verdino defeated Logan Martins by an 11-0 major decision, while Schaen earned a 5-2 decision to give Ursinus a 7-3 lead.
Junior
Evan Shriberg jumped out to an early 7-0 lead at 149 pounds before adding a reversal and near fall en route to a 13-5 major decision. Kmak increased the Bears' lead to 17-3 at 157 pounds with a third-period pin over Adam St. Cyr. Classmate
Joseph Martini III earned an 18-3 technical fall at 165 pounds, and Ursinus added four consecutive first-period pins from Cerulli, Updale, Cowan and Abdelatty to close out the victory.
No. 25 Ursinus 21, Alvernia 22
Alvernia jumped out to a 6-0 lead with a fall at 125 pounds, but the Bears responded with a 15-1 major decision by Verdino at 133 pounds to cut the deficit to 6-4. The Golden Wolves earned a decision at 141 pounds and a pin at 149 pounds to extend their advantage to 15-4 with six bouts remaining.
Kmak sparked the comeback with a 19-3 technical fall over Ian Vitalo at 157 pounds to make the score 15-9. Alvernia followed with a major decision at 165 pounds and a decision at 184 pounds, but Cerulli's fall at 174 pounds cut the margin to 22-15. At 197 pounds, Cowan recorded three take downs in an 11-3 major decision to trim the deficit to 22-19. Ursinus won the 285-pound bout by a 5-1 decision, but a team point deduction after the match resulted in a 22-21 loss.
No. 25 Ursinus 51, Rhode Island College 6
Ursinus closed the day with nine straight victories — eight by bonus points and four by pin — to earn a 51-6 win. Rhode Island College opened with a first-period pin at 125 pounds, but junior
Andrew Perez (133) tied the match at 6-6 with a win by injury default. Sophomore
Matt Copeland (141) earned a fall at the 5:53 mark, and junior
Samuel Teti followed with a first-period pin at 149 pounds to give Ursinus an 18-6 lead.
At 157 pounds, Kmak recorded his third pin of the day at the 1:25 mark. Martini added a fall at 165 pounds, and Cerulli pinned Ethan Silva in 50 seconds to extend the lead to 30-6. Updale earned a 10-3 decision at 184 pounds, while Cowan and Abdelatty received forfeits at 197 and 285 pounds to complete the 51-6 victory. The 45-point margin marked Ursinus' largest win since defeating Elmira College 48-0 in December 2022.
The Bears return to action Saturday, January 17th, when they host the Will Abele Invitational beginning at 10 a.m.
