NEW YORK, N.Y. (December 21, 2014) – The No. 19 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 33-9 win over Southern Maine early Sunday morning in the Grapple at the Garden.
 
With the win, the Ducks improve to 3-2 overall and 3-1 against NCAA Division III foes. Southern Maine falls to 7-3 in defeat.
 
The win is the second in as many appearances for the Ducks in the Grapple at the Garden which takes place at "The World's Most Famous Arena," Madison Square Garden in the heart of midtown Manhattan. Stevens previously defeated cross-river-rival New York University in December of 2013.
 
Sophomore Rob Murray began the day for the Ducks at 125 lbs., earning a 9-5 decision over Michael Arangio. The lead moved to 9-0 thanks to six points via forfeit for senior Anthony Geiger at 133, but the Huskies would battle back, taking decisions at 141 and 149 to make it a 9-6 match.
 
Senior Mike Polizzi slowed any Southern Maine momentum with a major decision shutout (9-0) of Carl Luth at 157, and veteran CJ Caserta picked up a dominating 17-2 technical fall to give Stevens an 18-6 margin with four bouts left.
 
Freshmen AJ Kowal and Phil Woods locked up the win with a pair of falls at 174 and 184 pounds to give the Ducks a 21-point lead going into the final two matches of the night. The Duck rookies needed a combined total of just 62 seconds to pick up the 12 team points as Kowal pinned Aaron Weiss 41 ticks into his bout, and Woods pinned Aaron Pierce 21 seconds in.
 
Maine picked up its third win of the morning at 197 before freshman Pete Andrich tallied a gritty 3-1 victory at heavyweight to send Stevens to its second-straight dual-meet win. The last dual-meet win – which also served as the last dual for the Ducks – came on November 15 against then No. 15 TCNJ.
 
In total the Ducks won seven bouts and lost just three in the event.
 
Grapple at the Garden presented by MusclePharm returned to Madison Square Garden for the third-annual celebration of wrestling. This year's event featured 25 college programs from around the nation, plus high school and youth tournaments along with a freestyle main event.
 
Click here for the Grapple at the Garden main page.
 
Stevens will return to action in early-January when it hosts TCNJ, Hunter College and Trinity College on January 4 in the Canavan Arena beginning at 10 a.m.
 
 #AllRise

Stevens 33, So. Maine 9 – Grapple at the Garden – Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)
125:      Rob Murray (Stevens) over Michael Arangio (Southern Maine), 9-5 decision (Stevens leads, 3-0)
133:      Anthony Geiger (Stevens) wins by forfeit (Stevens leads, 9-0)    
141:      Kevin Moore (Southern Maine) over Aaron Wolfang (Stevens), 4-0 decision (Stevens, 9-3)
149:      Daniel Del Gallo (Southern Maine) over Ricky Perrine (Stevens), 8-1 decision (Stevens, 9-6)
157:      Michael Polizzi (Stevens) over Carl Luth (Southern Maine), 9-0 major dec. (Stevens, 13-6)
165:      CJ Caserta (Stevens) over Daniel DeCarlo (Southern Maine), 17-2 tech. fall (Stevens, 18-6)
174:      AJ Kowal (Stevens) over Aaron Weiss (Southern Maine) by fall 0:41 (Stevens, 24-6)
184:      Phil Woods (Stevens) over Aaron Pierce (Southern Maine) fall 0:21 (Stevens, 30-6)
197:      Sean Fagan (Southern Maine) over Michael Otsuka (Stevens), 5-0 decision (Stevens, 30-9)
285:      Pete Andrich (Stevens) over Thomas Arseneault (Southern Maine), 3-1 decision (SV-1) (Stevens 33-9)