Wrestling Erases Early Deficit to Knock Off WPI, 27-18

Recap Courtesy of WPI Sports Information

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State rallied from an early 15-0 deficit by winning six straight bouts to defeat host WPI 27-18 in a New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) matchup on Saturday afternoon.  With the result, Bridgewater improves to 6-10 on the season while the Engineers dip to 2-17-1.    

Nationally-ranked John Marsh (New Bedford, MA) jump-started the Bears with a hard-fought win at 149 pounds.  Marsh, ranked #1 in New England and No. 4 nationally, took a 11-7 decision from Tyler Howe (Danbury, CT), who was ranked third regionally at 157.

BSC quickly gained momentum with pins from Frank Cammisa (Danbury, CT) and Ethan Raymond (Middlebury, VT) at 157 and 165 pounds before getting decision victories by Zachary Bates (Leyden, MA) and Steven Ciaccio (West Milford, NJ) at 174 and 184.  Michael Aiken (Leyden, MA) then provided what proved to be the winning margin at 197 pound.  The junior, who is ranked regionally at 184 pounds, bumped up and notched a pin late in the second period that gave the Bears an insurmountable lead.   

WPI had jumped out to an early advantage when Dan Gilman (Framingham, MA) opened the match with a pin at 125 pounds, Matthew Poppa (Derby, CT) won by forfeit at 133 and Carl Anderson (Billerica, MA) won a tight 4-3 decision at 141.  Heavyweight Joe Pasquerelli (Pittsfield, MA) closed out the match with a 2-1 victory at 285.

Both teams close out regular season action next week.  WPI travels to Roger Williams on Wednesday at 6pm for a tri-meet with Bryant, while Bridgewater State heads to Hartford, CT on Friday for quad match against host Trinity, Rhode Island College and AIC.