WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (February 27, 2021) – No. 9 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling earned victories in six of the nine contested matches en route to a 22-17 victory over Wilkes University Saturday in a non-conference dual at the Arnaud Marts Sports Center

First-years Andrew Finateri, Luke Hoerle and Nick Boggiano, joined sophomore Kyle Slendorn, junior Michael Dooley and senior Brett Kaliner in earning victories for the Ducks, who added an additional seven victories in exhibition bouts to move to 1-4 on the year. Wilkes earned wins in three of the nine contested matches and added a forfeit win at 285, but dropped to 1-1 on the year. The Ducks' victory evened the all-time series at four wins each, although Stevens has been victorious in four of the last five meetings.

"Great dual win for the guys today," said head coach Joe Favia. "They are making the progress we hoped they would as we prep for the national tournament - we have one more week to hone our skills. We are looking forward to watching things come together."

After the dual-opening forfeit win at heavyweight for the hosting Colonels, the Ducks reeled off five straight wins to build a commanding 19-6 lead. Finateri and Hoerle each scored decision victories at 125 and 133, respectively, to even the dual at six after the first three matches. 

Slendorn, ranked eighth in the recently-released National Wrestling Coaches Association rankings, picked up Stevens' first bonus-point win of the day with a 15-4 major over Michael Richardson to put the Ducks in front for good. The major was the team-leading third of the season for the Howell, New Jersey native. 

Kaliner, who moved to No. 1 at 149 in the new NWCA rankings, earned his second tech fall of the season, and fifth win of the year, to score the Ducks' fourth consecutive victory. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native was leading Allen Kokilanada 25-9 at the time of the stoppage in the second period. For his distinguished career, Kaliner has amassed 25 tech falls.

Boggiano, the reigning Middle Atlantic Conference Wrestler of the Week, extended the Ducks' lead with an 8-0 major over Cody Dix. The major was Boggiano's second bonus-point win of the season.

Wilkes began its climb on the dual scoreboard with decision victories at 165 and 174 and a tech fall at 184.

With the Ducks holding a 19-17 lead, the final outcome of the dual came down to the 197-pound match between fourth-ranked Dooley and Moustafa Almesky. Dooley grabbed a 2-1 lead after the opening period, only to see Almesky even things at two heading into the final period. The Hillsborough, New Jersey native picked up an escape point early in the final period and kept Almesky at bay to allow the one-point lead to hold up, giving Dooley his fourth win of the campaign, and securing the Ducks' victory.

Following the dual, the teams took to the mats for 10 exhibition matches, where the Ducks were victorious in seven of the 10 bouts for the second straight dual. Sophomores Pasquale Vizzoni picked up a pair of victories and was joined in the winner's column by classmates Jonah Schechtman and Trevor Mastorio, first-year Joel Martsinovsky, and juniors Joe Schneider and Nico Ziccardi; Ziccardi's second-period pin of Alexis Perez was his first win of the season.

Dual Box Score
Final Score: No. 9 Stevens: 22; Wilkes University 17
HWT: Nevin Rauch (W) won by forfeit; Wilkes leads 6-0
125: Andrew Finateri (S) won by decision over Nichoas Bauer (W), 6-3; Wilkes leads 6-3
133: Luke Hoerle (S) won by decision over Jack Bauer (W), 6-2; The score is tied 6-6
141: #8/#3 Kyle Slendorn (S) won by major decision over Michael Richardson (W), 15-4; Stevens leads 10-6
149: #1/#1 Brett Kaliner (S) won by technical decision over Allen Kokilanada (W), 25-9 (4:52); Stevens leads 15-6
157: Nick Boggiano (S) won by major decision over Cody Dix (W), 8-0; Stevens leads 19-6
165: Liam Flaherty (W) won by decision over Joe Schneider (S), 10-7; Stevens leads 19-9
174: James Geiger (W) won by decision over Joel Martsinovsky (S), 6-4; Stevens leads 19-12
184: John Devito (W) won by technical fall over Nico Ziccardi (S), 19-3 (3:20); Stevens leads 19-17
197: #4/#3 Michael Dooley (S) won by decision over Moustafa Almesky (W), 3-2; Stevens wins 22-17 [Final Bout]

Exhibitions:
149: Pasquale Vizzoni (S) won by major decision over Frankie Gabriel (W), 13-4
141: Brock Horton (W) pinned Will Fernandez (S), 2:10
157: Jonah Schechtman (S) won by decision over James Shaw (W), 6-1
125: Matthew Martin (W) won by technical fall over Andrew Finateri (S), 18-2 (5:00)
174/184: Joel Martsinovsky (S) pinned Brady Mitchell (W), 2:05
184: Nico Ziccardi (S) pinned Alexis Perez (W), 4:00
165: Joe Schneider (S) won by technical fall over Trevor Duboff (W), 17-0 (3:17)
149: Pasquale Vizzoni (S) won by decision over Allen Kokilanada (W), 9-2
141: Michael Richardson (W) pinned Will Fernandez (S), 0:31
141: Trevor Mastorio (S) won by decision over Brock Horton (W), 5-3 (SV:1)

Notes:
The dual began at heavyweight.

Up Next: No. 9 Stevens returns to Canavan Arena for its final regular season dual against Alvernia University Tuesday afternoon 2:00 p.m. It is believed to be the first meeting between the teams.

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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