By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State University will have 10 wrestlers taking part in the NCAA Division III Region One (formerly Northeast) Championships in New London, Conn., this weekend.

The Bears are one of 19 teams that will be competing at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's Dr. Hallie Gregory Field House starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.

"Mentally, I think we're ready to go," said coach Frank Cammisa. "They are ready for the challenge ahead. We have to execute the game plan and hopefully come away with wins."

BSU finished 14th a year ago at the Northeast Regional with 29 points with two Bears earned all-regional honors -- Michael Hopkins at 174 pounds and Vincent Player at 184 pounds -- after finishing sixth.

The top three finishers in all 10 weight classes will qualify for the NCAA Championships, to be held March 13-14 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Bears enter the regional with two wrestlers ranked in the New England Wrestling Association.

Junior Christian Curley (Bridgewater, Mass.) is No. 7 at 197 pounds with a 21-9 record while freshman Ethan Buonanducci (Enfield, Conn.) is No. 8 at 133 pounds with a 29-10 record.

Curley, one of BSU's captains, has 38 takedowns and 11 pins.

"He's in a good head space and ready for the regionals," said Cammisa. "He's better and more well rounded (in his third trip to the regionals). He understands what the tournament is like and what the experience is like."

Buonanducci, at 133 pounds, leads the Bears in wins, going 29-10 in his collegiate debut season, and has 57 takedowns and nine pins.

"He's definitely gotten better as the season has gone on," said Cammisa. "He's pulled out some really solid wins and lost a couple of close one. We've fine-tuned some things and he's ready to go."

Another freshman, Avery Carl (Bridport, Vt.) at 157 pounds, has also reached the 20-win mark, going 20-16 with 33 takedowns and a team-leading 15 pins.

Carl's coach at Middlebury Union High in Vermont was Ethan Raymond, a former Bridgewater State national qualifying wrestler and college roomate of Cammisa when they were teammates.

"Avery is a tough kid," said Cammisa. "He's had good coaching for a long time and was prepared for college."

Two seniors will be in the lineup for their final appearances at the regionals.

Malcolm Chrispin (Hyde Park, Mass.) is 14-10 with 27 takedowns at 141 pounds while Sei Dolomengi (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) is 15-11 with 26 takedowns at 125 pounds.

"This is it for them and they can't hold anything back," said Cammisa.

Joining those five will be freshman Kamel Dib (Lincoln, R.I.) at 149 pounds; junior Cqari Bacote (Springfield, Mass.) at 165 pounds; sophomore James Calabrese (Foxborough, Mass.) at 174 pounds; junior Kaleb Rhoton (North Andover, Mass.) at 184 pounds; and junior Michael Mastroianni (Milford, Mass.) at 285 pounds.

"We've had our ups and downs in the season," said Cammisa. "We have some athletes who are wrestling really well and we've had some injuries. But everybody is healthy now.

"It's exciting to see people going into their first regional and some going into their last."

There are 19 schools taking part in the Northeast Regional including five others from Massachusetts -- Emmanuel College, Springfield College, Western New England, Williams College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Rhode Island will be represented by Johnson & Wales, Rhode Island College and Roger Williams, and the other teams are Vermont State Castleton, Maine Maritime Academy, New England College Norwich University, Plymouth State University, Trinity College, the host U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the University of Southern Maine, Utica University and Wesleyan.

Johnson & Wales is the defending regional champion and Coast Guard was second a year ago.