Springfield, MA --- The 16th-ranked Springfield College wrestling team defeated a determined Worcester Polytechnic Institute squad, 31-17, this evening in a dual meet at Springfield College's Blake Arena.

With the win, Springfield is now 3-0 in dual-meet competition, while WPI is 0-2. SC is ranked #2 in New England Division III, while WPI is unranked.

The match began very well for WPI, as the Engineers won the first three bouts. Key in that run was freshman Carl Anderson (Billerica, MA), ranked #6 in New England Division III, defeating SC senior Ryan Hannigan (Wyantskill, NY), ranked #5 in New England at the 125-pound weight class, 6-4 in overtime.

But Springfield then won the next three to take a 16-11 lead. That run included pins from junior Chris DeBlock (Sparta, NJ) at 149, and from sophomore Luke Gabordi (Ledyard, CT) at 165.

At 174 pounds, Larry Loomis, a sophomore from Plainfield, CT, then gave WPI more hope by pinning his opponent at 5:40, giving WPI its last lead of the night at 17-16.

But little-used junior Scott Heinze (Miller Place, NY) then gave SC its biggest boost of the evening. Essentially a third-string 174-pounder, Heinze stepped up a weight class to defeat well-respected junior Adam Kreitman (Salem, NH) at 184 by a score of 4-2. That pushed Springfield into the lead for good at 19-17.

The rest of the night went lightning-quick. At 197, SC sophomore Alex Klinoff (Concord, MA) pinned his opponent in 30 seconds. And SC sophomore Chris Brown (East Hartford, CT), currently ranked #1 in New England, was awarded a forfeit.

Springfield head coach Daryl Arroyo elected to go with several substitutes tonight. Among those not wrestling were senior Mike Gaeta (Manalapan, N.J.), ranked #1 in the country at 141, and senior Mark DeCiccio (Cranston, R.I.), ranked #6 in the country at 157. Four others ranked in the top three in New England in their respective weight classes also did not wrestle.

Information courtesy of Springfield Sports Information

Results