The New York Unversity wrestling team opened its 2024-25 season by finishing first at the Ned McGinley Invitational, hosted by King's College, on Saturday, November 2, in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

The Violets also opened last season by winning the Invitational.

NYU totaled 175.5 points, winning five of the 10 weight brackets. The Violets finished 40 points ahead of second-place Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the 15-team competition. 

Three-time All-American Cooper Pontelandolfo dominated the 157-pound weight class, shutting out all five opponents while recording three tech falls, forcing a medical forfeit, and earning a 12-0 major decision against two-time All-American Ryan Smith of Stevens in the final. 

He now has 101 career wins for NYU. 

"Our team wrestled tough," said Associate Head Coach Corey Luce. "Cooper wrestled like he wants to win a national title. It was good to see him reach the 100-win milestone."

Returning NCAA Qualifier Trent Furman was almost as impressive at 184, recording five victories, allowing only three points, and capping his day with a 6-0 shutout of U.S. Military Academy Prep's Mark Ayala in the final.

Harrison Gordon, making his debut for the Violets, finished first in the 125-pound bracket, defeating Lee Rubin of RIT 15-4 in the final.

At 133, Jacob Venezia made it to the final and pinned Damian Resendez of U.S. Military Academy Prep in just 32 seconds to claim the crown.

At 141, freshman Tyler Kadish defeated teammate Nick Kruczynski in the semifinal and then pinned Hunter Swedish of Washington & Jefferson University in 1:13 to take the title.

"We have some tough freshmen, and that stood out to me the most," Luce added. "There will always be things to fix, and since it's just the start of the season, we have the time to do it."

The Violets return to the mat next Saturday, November 9, when they compete at the Racich Rumble Invitational in Collegeville, PA.