The
#20-ranked New York University wrestling team kicked off its National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals campaign with a pair of duals on Friday, January 9, in Cedar Falls, IA.
The Violets opened the day with a hard fought 24-22 loss to Luther College in the preliminaries and bounced back with an 23-18 win over Albion College in the consolation bracket.
Against Luther,
Alexander Diaz began the dual with a 17-5 tech fall in the 125-pound class, which took him less than four minutes.
NYU then fell behind 9-4 after the next two bouts before
John Mairano posted an 8-5 decision in the 149-pound class. The junior out of Simsbury, CT was tied 5-5 heading into the third period but collected a three-point takedown in the final 20 seconds to seal the win.
After the Norse added nine more points in the 157 and 165-pound bouts,
Ty Finn collected an 8-5 decision, while
Justin Mayes added a tech fall, in the 174 and 184-pound bouts, respectively. Much like Mairano, Finn was tied 5-5 in the third period of his contest. He then added a three-point takedown with under 25 seconds remaining to clinch the win.
A pin for Luther in the 197-pound tilt put NYU out of reach for the dual, but
Nathan Faxon ended the morning on a high note with a fall in the heavyweight class.
The Violets were then matched up against Albion in the consolation bracket, in which NYU was victorious in six of the 10 bouts to secure the win.
After
Xavier Diaz recorded a 22-7 tech fall in the 125-pound bout,
Harrison Gordon dominated the 133-pound tilt with a 14-5 major decision to put the Violets ahead 4-0.
Following back-to-back losses for NYU in the 141 and 149-pound classes, The Violets won four consecutive bouts from 157 to 184 to push their team lead up to 18-9.
Rex Jacops,
Nicky Bell, and Mayes each posted decisions in their respective tilts, while
Ty Finn earned a tech fall with a 20-3 win in the 174-pound class.
The Briton ended the duals with a pair of wins in the 197 and 285-pound classes.
The Violets will continue competition at the National Duals with a contest against Cornell College in the consolation bracket semifinals at 10am tomorrow.
