Hopkins, Player Advance to Day Two of Northeast Regionals

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- A pair of Bridgewater State University grapplers advanced to day two of the 2025 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Wrestling Championships on Saturday at the Bacon Field House on the campus of Wesleyan University.

Sophomore Vincent Player (Duxbury, Mass.) posted a 2-1 mark competing out of the 184-pound weight class to advance to Sunday. Seeded 12th in the 184 bracket, Player stunned Ky'ell Roper of nationally ranked Johnson & Wales University as he pinned the #5 seed in the first period (1:07). After losing by technical fall, 24-9 (7:00), to #4 Tyler Miller of Plymouth State University, Player bounced back with a 20-8 major decision victory against Wesleyan's Joe Colon.

Player (4-4) will take on #8 Jaylen Hawkins of Western New England University in the consolation quarterfinals.

Senior Michael Hopkins (Swampscott, Mass.) went 2-1 out of the 174-pound weight class to advance to Sunday. Seeded 11th in the 174 bracket, Hopkins dropped a tough 3-1 decision to #6 Nick Rogers of Springfield College to open the tournament. After earning a forfeit win against Scott Ingalls of the University of Southern Maine, Hopkins posted an 11-2 major decision over #5 Aidan Faria of Rhode Island College.

Hopkins, who is now 26-14 on the season, will take on #8 Henry Forte of Williams College in the consolation quarterfinals.

Junior 141-pounder Malcolm Chrispin (Hyde Park, Mass.) finished 2-2 at the tournament. Seeded 14th in the 141 bracket, Chrispin cruised to a 16-1 (5:18) technical fall win over unseeded Gavin McKenna of Roger Williams University in a preliminary round bout. After dropping a 12-1 major decision to #3 seed Bobur Berdiyorov of New England College in the first round, Chrispin rebounded with a 11-2 major decision triumph against #11 Mason Medina of WPI before bowing out with a tough 3-1 setback to #5 Kyle Moore of Southern Maine.

Chrispin finished the season with an overall record of 19-11.

Bridgewater State is currently tied for 15th place in the teams standings with 18.5 points.

Second day action continues Sunday morning at 11:00 AM. Eight wrestlers remain in each weight class, four in the winner's bracket and four in the consolation bracket. With the top three in each weight class headed to the Nationals in two weeks in Providence, Rhode Island, several paths exist for qualification. For those in the winner's bracket, a win in the semifinal match will punch their ticket while a loss will require two wins later in the day to qualify. The four starting in the consolation bracket will need to win three bouts Sunday to secure a spot in Providence.

(Photo Courtesy of Steve McLaughlin Photography)