By Andrew Coen
The Hofstra wrestling team, coming off an 11th-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships last March, has hit the mats hard to start the 2006-07 season at 6-0 in dual meets, including an 18-7 win over number one ranked Minnesota to catapult the Pride into the top five in the nation. Hofstra was ranked 11th in the country in the 2006-07 USA Today/InterMat National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Preseason Division I Coaches Poll, its highest-ever preseason ranking, and produced a schedule that included eight opponents ranked in the preseason top 25.
Hofstra¹s success so far comes after new coach Tom Shifflet replaced longtime Pride head man Tom Ryan, the legendary coach credited with turning the program into a national power and who accepted the same position at Ohio State. Shifflet arrives at Hofstra after serving as the head wrestling coach at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and prior to that was an assistant coach at Cornell University.
Shifflet¹s first season as Pride coach features a tough schedule that includes a home match this Sunday, Dec. 10, when Hofstra hosts seventh-ranked Penn State. Hofstra¹s director of marketing Jesse Bonfiglio said that with the Penn State match being Boy Scout day and the many high school teams and youth wrestling programs expected to attend, it should make for an electric atmosphere.
³For people who have never seen [college wrestling] before, this is a good match to see,² said Bonfiglio.
Hofstra wrestling matches, held inside the Mack Sports Complex, formerly known as Hofstra Arena, feature drama both on and off the mats, with the lights dimmed for each match and one lit lamp that shines on the center of the floor with rock music in the background. Hofstra draws some of the largest crowds for college wrestling, ranking in the top 10 in attendance two years ago, according to Bonfiglio.
Individually for Hofstra, six Pride grapplers were ranked in the preseason top 20 in their respective weight classes to start the 2006-07 season. Senior Mike Patrovich, who posted a 34-5 record and earned All-American honors with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships last March, has dropped down to 165 pounds this year and was ranked third in the preseason poll. Junior Joe Rovelli, a two-time Colonial Athletic Association champion, posted a 28-13 record last year and came into this season ranked fifth at 184 pounds.
South Shore wrestling fans can also see one of their own shine for the Pride in senior Chris Weidman, a Baldwin High School product who earned All-American honors with a sixth-place finish at 197 pounds last year and was ranked sixth in the preseason poll.
Senior James Strouse, another two-time CAA champion who posted a 29-12 mark last year, came into the 2006-07 campaign ranked 12th in the nation at 157 pounds. Junior Charles Griffin, one of four two-time conference champions on the Pride roster, posted a 27-8 mark in 2005-06 and entered the new season ranked 14th at 141 pounds. Junior Dave Tomasette, who posted a 14-8 mark and captured his first CAA title last year, was ranked 20th at 125 pounds in the preseason poll.
Following the Penn State match on Sunday, Hofstra¹s lone remaining contest at the Mack Sports Complex is scheduled for Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. against Rider University, with youth wrestling festivities planned for the evening. Hofstra will also have home matches at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan on Jan. 27 at 5 p.m. against Lehigh and Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. versus Cornell.
For more information on the Hofstra wrestling schedule, call (516) 463-TIXX or log onto www.hofstra.edu/athletics.
