HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 14, 2020)  – The eighth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team won five bouts to top Centenary University 23-21 Friday in a non-conference dual at Canavan Arena.

Freshman Kyle Slendorn joined sophomore Michael Dooley and seniors Troy Stanich, Dylan Van Sickell and Thomas Poklikuha in earning victories for the Ducks, who won their fifth straight dual to improve to 7-5 on the year. Stevens has finished the regular season with a winning dual record in seven straight seasons.

Centenary also won five matches in the dual, but the Cyclones were penalized a key point at 174 that helped spur Stevens on to victory. The loss dropped Centenary to 4-6. It was the first meeting between the programs since Nov. 2, 2014. The teams have split their last four meetings.

"Mixed emotions about tonight," said head coach Joe Favia. "It was the departure for some great seniors."

"It was a victory on the scoreboard, but an underwhelming performance for some," Favia continued. "I'm happy the guys were able to battle hard tonight and find a way to win while battling adversity. We will take a short time to recover then look to peak for regionals and NCAAs."

Prior to the dual, the program recognized its six-member class of 2020. Joining Poklikuha, Stanich and Van Sickell in being recognized for the efforts on the mat and contributions to the program were Carl Vasti, Gerad Ross and Stephen Friedman. Collectively, the Class of 2020 has won five conference titles and 73 duals, while capturing multiple individual titles at both, the tournament, conference and regional levels.

"These seniors are the lifeblood of our program," Favia reflected. "They came to this team when we were nothing and they made us into the program we are today. They are irreplaceable, it's as simple as that. I'm happy each of them wrestled to their potential tonight, they deserved it. The good news is [that] there is still another chapter to be written for three of these seniors and I am privileged to play a small role in it."

The teams split the opening two matches with Centenary earning technical fall at 125 opening the competition and freshman Kyle Slendorn earning his 16th victory of the year with a 9-3 decision over Jacy Jones to draw Stevens within 5-3.

Stanich put Stevens in front with a first-period pin of Cameron Bruffy, before Kaliner fell to No. 7/8 Ryan Anderson via a 3-2 decision in the most anticipated match of the evening. The two 149-pounders were locked in an exciting battle that saw just four total points earned over the first two periods. Kaliner was trailing 2-1 in the second stanza and worked diligently to even the score and successfully did so midway through the frame after multiple restarts by the referee. 

With the crowd on its feet, Kaliner attempted several shots in the final period, but was unable to score an additional point. The Centenary competitor earned the riding time point to hand Kaliner his third loss of the year.

Van Sickell quickly responded with a 15-5 major decision over Stanley Wojdylak to earn his 20th win of the year. The Little Silver, New Jersey native asserted his dominance early and often and scored the riding-time point to post his team-leading sixth major of the season.

Poklikuha followed with a second-period pin of Jeremy Nurnberger to push Stevens' lead to 19-8. Stevens' 165-pounder nearly pinned his opponent in the final seconds of the opening period.

Although the Ducks came out on the wrong side of a major at 174, Stevens earned an important point on the scoreboard when Alec Donovan was penalized a team point for unnecessary roughness after the final match whistle. The penalty point resulted in a 19-11 lead with three matches left.

A decision victory for the Cyclones trimmed the Ducks' advantage to 19-15, however, Dooley clinched the victory with a 9-0 shutout of Justin Hopman. Dooley earned over four minutes of riding team in the win. A forfeit at 285 for Centenary provided the final margin.

Sophomore Joe Schneider won an exhibition match via a 5-0 decision to round out the matches.

Dual Results:
Final Score: No. 8 Stevens: 23, Centenary: 21
125: Dylan Luciano (C) won by technical fall over Akhil Vega (S), 20-2 (5:45); Centenary leading 5-0
133: #9/#8 Kyle Slendorn (S) won by decision over over Jacy Jones (C), 9-3; Centenary leading 5-3
141: #1/#1 Troy Stanich (S) pinned Cameron Bruffy (C), 1:48; Stevens leading 9-5
149: #7/#8 Ryan Anderson (C) won by decision over #1/#1 Brett Kaliner (S), 3-2; Stevens leading 9-8
157: #9/6 Dylan Van Sickell (S) won by major decision over Stanley Wojdylak (C), 15-5; Stevens leading 13-8
165: #8/NR Thomas Poklikuha (S) pinned Jeremy Nurnberger (C), 3:28; Stevens leading 19-8
174: Alec Donovan (C) won by major decision over Nico Ziccardi (S), 13-1; Stevens leading 19-11 (Centenary lost a team point for unnecessary roughness after the final match whistle)
184: Kenny Long (C) won by major decision over Robert Gennat (S), 14-5; Stevens leading 19-15
197: #8/#6 Michael Dooley (S) won by major decision over Justin Hopman (C), 9-0; Stevens leading 23-15
285: Jayvon Davidson (C) won by forfeit; Stevens leading 23-21 (Final bout)

Exhibition Results:
149: Michael Foca (C) won by decision over Jonah Schechtman (S), 5-2
157: Joe Schneider (S) won by decision over Perry Maio (C), 5-0
133: Bobby Demeter (C) won by major decision over Arjun Khatri (S), 12-2

Up Next: No. 8 Wrestling heads to Allentown, Pennsylvania for the Southeast/Mideast Futures Tournament, hosted by Muhlenberg College on Sunday, Feb. 23.

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