The grapplers of the Hopkins wrestling team were unable to claim victory in their dual meet this past weekend which pitted the Blue Jays against Centennial Conference foes Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT) and Washington and Lee University (W&L) in Lexington, Va.
The Blue Jays were coming off a weekend when they had split a pair of Centennial Conference bouts, losing against Gettysburg College and winning against local rival McDaniel College. The Jays also emerged victorious in a non-Conference bout against the Hampden-Sydney College Tigers.
The weekend was especially productive for sophomores Ricky Cavallo and Isaac Morales, juniors Christian Vallis and Tommy Grifa and senior Jared Forman, all of whom posted 3-0 records against their opponents. Forman managed to pin his opponent from Hampden-Sydney in 44 seconds, the second fastest pin of the year by a Blue Jay.
Battling against the sixth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT) Ducks, the Jays started out strong with a nice burst of momentum out of the gate. In the 125-pound division, Cavallo scored a 10-8 regular decision victory over the defending Centennial Conference champion and 2016 NCAA Regional runner-up, senior Rob Murray.
An injury to 133-pounder Vallis gave the Ducks six points and quickly shifted the score to 6-3, but junior Lucas Escobar’s 7-6 victory at the 141 pound spot tied the match at 6-6. The Ducks quickly shot back by capturing two wins by technical fall in the 149 and 157 pound bouts, giving Stevens the lead back at 16-6.
The 10-point deficit would not last long, however, as the Blue Jays fired back to narrow the deficit to three after sophomore Dane Morgan secured an 8-2 victory at 165 pounds and Forman captured a major decision win, 13-5, at the 177 pound slot.
The three-point deficit lingered after Hopkins and Stevens traded technical falls, with sophomore Miles Gilliam giving his team five points to secure an 18-0 victory at 197, putting the deficit back at three and making the score 21-18.
Stevens went on to win the match after scoring a pin at 285, stretching the score to 27-18 and securing the victory for the sixth-ranked Ducks.
Stevens completed its regular season with a flawless 22-0 record while going 7-0 in the Conference, the 29th undefeated season in SIT’s history.
In the second half of the dual match, the Blue Jays matched up against the Washington & Lee Diplomats. Cavallo won by forfeit and notched six points for the visiting Hopkins squad before Washington & Lee surged back with five straight victories, gaining a lead of 21-6.
Forman and Gilliam once again earned wins, with Forman winning in a 10-5 decision and Gilliam earning bonus points through a major decision on his opponent in a 9-0 contest.
Forman’s victory was his 20th of the season, which leads the team, and stretches his overall record for this season to 20-12.
The Diplomats secured their victory further with a minor decision win at the 285-pound slot. They finished off the Blue Jays with a score of 27-13 and wrapped up the regular season at 8-7 with a 4-3 record in the Centennial Conference.
The two losses wrap up the 2016-2017 season for the Blue Jays as they finish the regular season posting a 5-10 overall record and a 3-4 conference record, earning the Jays fifth place in the Conference.
The Blue Jays will next be in action when they travel to Hoboken’s Canavan Arena on Feb. 11 for the Centennial Conference Championships.
