DATE: 12/30/2007 8:54:00 PM

Greensboro, NC

By Jim Sheehan
Hofstra Sports Information

Junior Alton Lucas captured the 174-pound title and six other Pride wrestlers earned medals to lead Hofstra to a third-place finish at the 2007 UNCG Southern Scuffle at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.

The Pride, who entered the Scuffle with the third-highest ranking at number 15 in the 28-team field, tallied one champion in Lucas, a runner-up in senior Charles Griffin, a third-place finish by senior Joe Rovelli, two fifth-place finishes by senior Dave Tomasette and sophomore Lou Ruggirello, and two sixth-place finishes by sophomore Mitch Smith and freshman Ryan Patrovich.

Hofstra finished with 121 points and trailed Scuffle champions Minnesota (182) and Edinboro (130.5) in the standings. Cornell (94) placed fourth and Maryland (93.5) was fifth.

Lucas captured his first tournament title since winning the 2006 East Stroudsburg Open title. He defeated Maryland’s second-seeded Mike Letts, 6-3, in the title match with a big third period. Earlier in the day, Lucas, the fifth-seed and ranked 14th in the nation, defeated Minnesota’s fourth-seeded Gabe Dretsch in the quarterfinals and Navy’s top-seeded Matt Stolpinski 7-4. Lucas remains undefeated this season at 11-0.

At 141 pounds, top-seed Charles Griffin was defeated in the championship match by Minnesota’s second-seed Manny Rivera 5-3. Griffin, the number three ranked wrestler in the country, defeated Virginia Tech’s Chris Diaz, 8-1, in the quarterfinals, and Kent State’s fifth-seed Drew Lashaway, 11-6, in the semifinals before the title match loss to Rivera. Griffin is now 15-3 on the season.

At 197 pounds senior Joe Rovelli, who was seeded first, placed third with a 3-1 day on Sunday. Rovelli, who was 5-1 in the Scuffle defeated Bloomsburg’s Eric Shaw 18-8 in the quarterfinals before dropping a 6-4 decision to Virginia’s Brent Jones in the semifinals. In the consolation semifinals Rovelli edged Minnesota’s Yura Malamura, 8-6, and then posted a 12-4 major decision over UNCG’s third-seeded Daren Burns in the third place match. Rovelli is 9-2 on the season.

At 125, senior Dave Tomasette, who was seeded second, finished in fifth place after a 3-2 day on Sunday and a 5-2 Scuffle. Tomasette opened the day with a 9-5 loss to North Carolina’s seventh-seed Drew Forshey in the quarterfinals. But Tomasette rebounded with a 15-1 major decision over George Mason’s Brian Wright and an 8-2 decision over Virginia Tech’s Justin Staylor before dropping a 4-2 decision to Old Dominion’s Brian Nicholson in the consolation semifinals. Tomasette took fifth place when Forshey forfeited. Tomasette is now 15-5 on the season.

Sophomore Lou Ruggirello, also seeded first in the Scuffle, also placed fifth in the tournament. The second-ranked wrestler in the country advanced to the semifinals with a 9-3 victory over Edinboro’s Ricky Deubel. But Ruggirello dropped a 3-1 decision to Cornell’s fifth-seeded Mike Grey in the championship semifinals and a 4-0 decision to Boise State’s Andrew Hochstrasser in the consolation semifinals. But the sophomore posted an 8-5 decision over Kent State’s fourth-seeded Dan Mitcheff in the fifth-place match. Ruggirello is 17-4 on the year.

At 149, sophomore Mitch Smith placed sixth after posting a 4-3 tournament. Smith opened Sunday with a 7-1 loss to Boise State’s fifth-seeded Adam Hall in the championship quarterfinals. But Smith posted a 3-1 decision over North Carolina’s eighth-seeded Vincent Ramirez and an 8-2 decision over Navy’s ninth-seeded Bryce Saddoris. Smith lost a heart-breaking 12-11 decision to CAA-foe, Old Dominion’s sixth-seeded Kaylen Baxter in the consolation semifinals on a takedown in the waning seconds of the match. Smith then dropped a 9-4 decision to Appalachian State’s fourth-seeded Scott Ervin in the fifth-place match. Smith previously defeated Ervin in the championship round on Saturday. After coming into the Scuffle with an 0-6 mark, he leaves with a 4-9 record on the season.

At 165, freshman Ryan Patrovich also finished in sixth place battling through the consolation round on Sunday. He opened the day with a 5-0 victory over Virginia Tech’s Anthony Trongone, a 14-2 major win over Duke’s Addision Nuding, a default victory over Minnesota’s second-seeded Scott Glasser, and a medical forfeit win over Kent State’s third-seeded Kurt Gross before suffering a 4-1 loss to Edinboro’s fifth-seeded Jarrod King in the consolation semifinals. Patrovich then dropped a 5-3 decision to Minnesota’s Tyler Safratowich in the fifth place match. Patrovich is now 13-8 on the year.

Earlier in the day four other Pride wrestlers were eliminated from the Scuffle with their second loss. At 157 sophomore Jonny Bonilla-Bowman and junior Anthony Tortora both were knocked out on Sunday. Bonilla-Bowman was eliminated with an 8-7 loss to Lock Haven’s Luke Lanno. Tortora, who went 2-1 on Saturday, defeated Navy’s Joe Butcher, 12-4, and Old Dominion’s Dan Rivera, 6-2 before losing to Bloomburg’s fifth-seeded Matt Moxley by tech fall, 16-1. Tortora is 7-5 on the season. At 174, freshman Lawrence Beckman opened the day with a 14-3 major decision over Bloomsburg’s Brian Shaw before being pinned in 54 seconds by Cornell’s Justin Kerber. At heavyweight, James Guerin won by medical forfeit over VMI’s Josh Wine before being knocked out by Cornell’s Maciej Jochym, 5-1.

The Pride return to action next Sunday, January 6th at the David S. Mack Sports Complex when they host Central Michigan at 11 a.m. and Edinboro at 3 p.m. Central Michigan and Edinboro square off at 1 p.m.