Wrestling Falls to Rhode Island College, 37-6
Joe Vanni
Rhode Island College 37, WPI 6
Worcester, MA --- Visiting Rhode Island College won four matches by pin, eight in total, to roll to a 37-6 victory over WPI in regional wrestling action Wednesday night at WPI's Alumni Gymnasium. With the win, Rhode Island moves to 6-2 on the season, while WPI drops to 6-4.
RIC started out of the gate quickly, beginning this evening's action with a victory by pin by Jared Rhodes (Harrisburg, PA) at 125 pounds. In the 133 bout, featuring two of the top five ranked wrestlers in the latest NEWA poll, second-ranked Scott Legacy (Bennington, CT) pinned WPI's Rich Wingert (Hyde Park, MA - #4 NEWA) to take a 12-0 lead in the overall match.
WPI got a boost from Alex LaBeef (Pomfret, CT), who fought back to tie his 141-pound bout with mere seconds to go before succumbing 10-8 by sudden victory to Mike Trasso (Lyndhurst, NJ). Trasso is currently the #3 ranked wrestler in New England at 141 pounds.
The Anchormen would go on to win the following two matches to take a commanding lead in the event. NEWA top-ranked 149 Kevin Sutherland (Dauphin, PA) tallied a 16-5 major decision over WPI's Jeff Root (Milford, CT). Then, in the featured match of the day, NEWA #1 Mike Martini (Cranston, RI) defeated #4 Tyler Howe (Danbury, CT) by a 9-3 score to extend RIC's lead to a commanding 22-0 advantage over the Engineers.
WPI was finally able to cut into the Anchormen lead thanks to Joe Vanni (Hamilton, MA), who won his match at 165 by a 10-3 score. The momentum shift was short-lived however, as RIC's Joe Manley (Wayland, MA - #5 NEWA) defeated Larry Loomis (Plainfield, CT - #4 NEWA) by pin in another matchup of wrestlers ranked in the NEWA top five. Manley's victory extended Rhode Island's lead to 28-3 and put any hope of winning the overall match out of reach for the Crimson and Gray.
Following a win by pin at 184 pounds by NEWA #3 Nick Logan (Lowell, MA) and another by decision by Steve Saba (Methuen, MA) at 197, WPI tallied its second win in its final match of the evening as heavyweight Anthony Corbo (Port Washington, NY) closed the evening's action with an 8-2 win.
Both teams return to action this Sunday at 10am at the NEWA Duals, hosted by Roger Williams.
Match Results
| Weight | Result | Score/Time | Running Score | ||
| 125 | Jared Rhodes (RIC) | Pinned | Dan Metcalf (WPI) | 3:16 | 6-0 |
| 133 | Scott Legacy (RIC) | Pinned | Rich Wingert (WPI) | 4:07 | 12-0 |
| 141 | Mike Trasso (RIC) | Dec. | Alex LaBeef (WPI) | 10-8 | 15-0 |
| 149 | Kevin Sutherland (RIC) | Major Dec. | Jeff Root (WPI) | 16-5 | 19-0 |
| 157 | Mike Martini (RIC) | Dec. | Tyler Howe (WPI) | 9-3 | 22-0 |
| 165 | Joe Vanni (WPI) | Dec. | Trevor McKenzie (RIC) | 10-3 | 22-3 |
| 174 | Joe Manley (RIC) | Pinned | Larry Loomis (WPI) | 6:43 | 28-3 |
| 184 | Nick Logan (RIC) | Pinned | John Gikas (WPI) | 4:54 | 34-3 |
| 197 | Steve Saba (RIC) | Dec. | Scott Guzman (WPI) | 3-1 | 37-3 |
| 285 | Anthony Corbo (WPI) | Dec. | Devin Callahan (RIC) | 8-2 | 37-6 |
Story by Ray Cotrufo, WPI Athletic Department