Rider ends up-and-down season on positive note

By Paul Mullin

There is really only one thing to do when you are sent packing by two of the most powerful collegiate wrestling teams in the country: Bounce back.

The wrestling team closed out the regular season with a rout of conference foe Sacred Heart on Feb. 18, its second big win in a row after defeating Boston University just two days earlier. These victories came on the heels of two crushing defeats to a duo of nationally ranked Top 10 teams, No. 3 Iowa State and No. 8 Hofstra.

But despite the lopsided scores, Head Coach Gary Taylor maintained that both matches were close, and above all, they served a purpose.

“It helped [the team] to learn how to battle harder through those first two matches,” Taylor said. “I think it carried over into the other two we won.”

The match against Iowa State on Feb. 9 was tough from beginning to end as the Cyclones cruised to a 38-6 victory over the Broncs.

The match saw three Rider wrestlers pinned and two more fall in major decisions. Sophomore Doug Umbehauer, No. 8 in the nation at 174 pounds, came the closest to victory when he lost 6-5 to Iowa State senior Grant Turner.

The Broncs then challenged Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Hofstra on Feb. 13.
It was a dominant performance by the Pride until sophomore Mike Kessler pulled out a victory at 149 pounds to make the score 11-9. Then Hofstra pulled away for a 29-9 win.
Umbehauer again suffered a very close defeat, falling 3-2 to No. 9 Alton Lucas.

“[Umbehauer] is capable of beating them both,” said Taylor. “He may very well beat them both the next time he faces them at nationals.”

The team’s next match on Feb. 16 was its first at home since defeating Bloomsburg in early January, but the results were very similar, as the Broncs cruised to a 30-3 victory over the Boston University Terriers for their fourth conference victory of the season.

The Broncs started strong with a technical fall at 197 pounds by junior T.J. Morrison. That was followed by a strong showing by senior heavyweight Nick Ciufo and a close win by freshman Tommy Lorenzo at 125 pounds for an 11-0 lead.

After a loss at 133 pounds, Rider bounced right back to win each of the remaining six bouts, finishing with a major decision at 184 pounds by freshman Mike Miller.

For the final match of the season, the Broncs hosted Sacred Heart University for Senior Day on Feb. 18, and once again rolled to a relatively easy win, becoming victors in nine out of 10 bouts for the second match in a row en route to a 33-6 drubbing of the Pioneers.

Most importantly, this victory launched the Broncs right back into the thick of things in the
conference.

“It gives us some momentum going into the conference championships,” Taylor said. “Getting those two solid wins certainly helped in some seeding areas.”

The Broncs got things started with wins by Morrison and Miller for a 6-0 lead. But that was all erased very quickly when Sacred Heart’s Payam Zarrinpour of Iran, ranked 14th in the nation, defeated Ciufo by fall in the heavyweight bout, evening the score at six.

But as they did two days earlier, the Broncs controlled the remainder of the matchup, winning the final seven bouts of the day.

Senior Nate Galloway, in his first and last ever match inside Alumni Gymnasium, recorded a technical fall at 157 pounds to give Rider a 25-6 lead with just two bouts remaining.

Now the Broncs have a few days off before reporting to the CAA Championships at George Mason University in Virginia on March 2 and 3. Two weeks later selected wrestlers will travel to the NCAA Championships to compete with the best from all over the country.

“I think we have a legitimate shot, no question, for second place,” Taylor said, recognizing the threat of perennial power Hofstra. “We are going to have to wrestle well.”