HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 10, 2021) – Senior Brett Kaliner and junior Michael Dooley each opened their season with pins, but No. 11 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling fell to Castleton University 27-18 Wednesday afternoon in the Ducks' opener at Canavan Arena. 

First-year Andrew Finateri and sophomore Kyle Slendorn also earned wins for the Ducks, who won four of the eight contested matches in falling to 0-1. Castleton won six matches in total, including forfeit wins at 184 and 285 to move to 2-0 on the year. The event marked the first intercollegiate competition for Stevens Athletics in 337 days.

"It felt great to get our first competition in," said assistant coach Anthony Bonaventura. "It's been a full year since our last dual meet in Canavan Arena."

"We know we have our work cut out for us in each dual and our lineup is young," Bonaventura continued. "We need to find ways to score more points. Our fight and effort can exponentially increase. We have faith in each individual that steps on the mat and believe they can get the job done. We appreciate Castleton making the trip down to compete and allow our guys to gauge where they need to improve. A huge thank you to our Sports Medicine Office and department administration for hosting a successful home event."

Finateri began his college career with a victory, scoring an 11-9 decision over the Spartans' Elijah Cyr in the dual-opening bout at 125. The back-and-forth contest began with a takedown in the second minute for the first points of Finateri's career. A four-point near-fall followed and Finateri held a six-point advantage going into the second period.

Cyr opened scoring in the second with a takedown only for Finateri to escape moments later. Following the escape, Cyr scored his second takedown of the period only to see the Ducks' 125-pound grappler escape once again. Castleton's 125-pounder connected on his third takedown of the period to close scoring in the second.

Starting in the neutral position for the second straight period, the wrestlers moved towards the edge of the circle and spent nearly a minute battling for position on the mat before Finateri was awarded two points for converting the takedown right in front of the Castleton bench to essentially put the match out of reach. Cyr scored a takedown in the waning seconds but the final buzzer sounded to end the threat and give Finateri the win.

All totaled, five student-athletes saw their first competitive action for the Ducks, with first-years Luke Hoerle, Nick Boggiano, Joel Martsinovsky and Will Fernandez all joining Finateri in making their Stevens debuts.

The 133-pound bout followed with Hoerle dropping a hard-fought 5-2 decision to Michael Gonyay to even the dual at three. The Westfield, New Jersey native more than held his own in his collegiate debut, taking an early lead in the opening period only to see the Castleton wrestler pull ahead in the final minute.

Slendorn, ranked eighth by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and third by D3Wrestle.com, took to the mats for the first time at 141 and rallied for an 8-4 decision over James Rodriguez to put the Ducks back in front on the dual scoreboard.

It was Rodriguez that scored the first points of the match connecting on a single-leg takedown in the opening minute. Castleton's 141-pounder would take a 4-2 lead into the second period courtesy of another takedown. Rodriguez narrowly avoided a Slendorn takedown outside the top right corner of the mat over the last 15 seconds to maintain his advantage heading into the second stanza.

With his opponent holding the advantage both on the scoreboard and in riding tine, it was Slendorn, the reigning Middle Atlantic Conference Rookie of the Year, scoring the final six points of the match, with four coming in the final period alone as the Howell, New Jersey native earned his first win of the season. Slendorn scored the first point of the third with an escape, which was followed by a takedown near the bottom edge of the circle and then earned a bonus riding-time point to secure the come-from-behind win.

With the Ducks holding a slim lead on the scoreboard, Kaliner, three-time All-American, took to the mat and handed the Ducks their biggest lead of the day with a second-period pin of Keegan Coon. Kaliner, who earned bonus points in each of his 26 victories one season ago, scored several takedowns of Coon in the opening period to take a 10-4 lead. 

Starting the second stanza in the down position, Kaliner, ranked second by the NWCA at 149 and first by D3Wrestle, quickly escaped and again took control of his opponent. Coon attempted a takedown, first trying to grab the West Chester, Pennsylvania native's right leg and then his left, but it was instead Kaliner that dropped his weight onto his opponent before muscling him onto his back for the eventual pin. Kaliner had a team-leading 15 pins one season ago. 

Boggiano was up next at 157 against Max Tempel, ranked fifth by the NWCA and sixth by D3Wrestle. Boggiano dropped a 5-1 decision to Tempel, which drew Castleton to within 12-6. After a scoreless first, Boggiano escaped at the start of the second period for the first points of the match. The 1-0 score held until the final seconds of the period when Tempel scored an escape point near the center of the mat.

The Spartans scored victories in the next three matches to seize control of the dual. Michael Angers picked up a 10-3 victory at 165 over the returning Jarrett Weir, who was wrestling his first match since 2019. Cooper Fleming pinned Martsinovsky in the opening period at 174 and Cooper Fleming received a forfeit win at 184. The three wins pushed the Spartans' advantage to 21-12.

Dooley earned his first win of the year with a first-period pin of Haven Tatarek. The Hillsborough, New Jersey native held firm control of Tatarek near the center of the mat until he was finally able to turn Tatarek over near the edge of the circle in the final minute of the opening stanza, securing the pin right in front of the Stevens bench. Dooley totaled five pins last season.

Shea Garland won via forfeit at 285 to provide the final 27-18 margin.

Stevens closed out the day by securing four of the five exhibition matches with sophomores Trevor Mastorio, Pasquale Vizzoni, Jonah Schechtman and James Snyder opening their second campaigns in Hoboken with a victory. 

Dual Box Score
Final Score: Castleton University 27, No. 11 Stevens: 18
125: Andrew Finateri (S) won by decision over Elijah Cyr (C), 11-9; Stevens leading 3-0
133: Michael Gonyay (C) won by decision over Luke Hoerle (S), 5-2; Dual tied 3-3
141: #8/#3 Kyle Slendorn (S) won by decision over James Rodriguez (C), 8-4; Stevens leading 6-3
149: #2/#1 Brett Kaliner (S) pinned Keegan Coon (C), 3:35; Stevens leading 12-3
157: #5/#6 Max Tempel (C) won by decision over Nick Boggiano (S), 5-1 Stevens leading 12-6
165: Michael Angers (C) won by decision over Jarrett Weir (S), 10-3; Stevens leading 12-9
174: Cooper Fleming (C) pinned Joel Martsinovsky (S), 2:53; Castleton leading 15-12
184: Sampson Wilkins (C) won by forfeit; Castleton leading 21-12
197: #3/#2 Michael Dooley (S) pinned Haven Tatarek (C), 2:44; Castleton leading 21-18
285: Shea Garand (C) won by forfeit; Castleton wins 27-18 (Final bout)

Exhibitions:
141: Trevor Mastorio (S) pinned Tylik Epps (C), 2:47
141: Kayden Gransbury (C) pinned Will Fernandez, 2:54
149: Pasquale Vizzoni (S) pinned Alijah Seymour (C), 2:26
165: Jonah Schechtman (S) won by decision over Marlon Laing (C), 5-3, SV1 (:27)
165: James Snyder (S) pinned Aiden Cullen (C), 1:39

Up Next: The Ducks begin a home-and-home series with No. 13 The College of New Jersey on Feb. 13 in Ewing, N.J. TCNJ makes the return trip to Canavan Arena one week from today. A link to the live video feed for Saturday's dual is available on StevensDucks.com.

Please note that all event times, dates and opponents are subject to change and fans remain prohibited from attending Stevens' home athletic events. 

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