PRINCETON, N.J. (November 6, 2022)  – Senior Kyle Slendorn finished third at 141 and classmate Hunter Gutierrez finished fourth at 149 to lead No. 7 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling Sunday at the Princeton Open at the historic Jadwin Gymnasium.

After a bye in the opening round, Slendorn, who was ranked third in the field, had an impressive showing in his first match of the 2022-23 season, pinning Presbyterian's Trenton Donahue in the second period. The Ramtown, New Jersey native then scored an 8-2 decision over Lock Haven's Zack Zeamer, scoring a pair of takedowns in the opening period to build an early lead. Slendorn dropped to the consolation bracket after falling via major decision (12-4) to Rutgers' Joey Oliveri, who qualified for last year's NCAA Championship. Slendorn quickly regrouped and scored a 7-5 decision victory over Army's Braden Basile, who was competing as an independent wrestler, in the third-place match, with a takedown in the final minute providing the final outcome.

After an opening-round bye, Gutierrez opened his year with an impressive 8-0 major over Rutgers' Andrew Gapas, before scoring a first-period pin of Princeton's Drew Lang to reach the semifinals. The Lacey Township, New Jersey product fell to the consolation bracket with a hard-fought 4-2 loss to Lock Haven's Connor Eck, with the winning takedown coming in the first sudden-victory period. Gutierrez dropped the third-place match to Lehigh's Drew Munch via an 8-5 decision to close out his tournament. 

Additionally, junior Stefan Major and senior Frank Medina also competed at the event, with Stevens the lone affiliated Division III team in the field. Major, who was the top seed at 174, opened his campaign with a first-period pin of Emmanuel's Grady Tisdale and also scored an 8-6 decision victory over Presbyterian's Reed Douglas.

The Ducks' individual results are listed below:
141
R16: Kyle Slendorn (Stevens) pinned Trenton Donahue (Presbyterian), 4:15
QF: Kyle Slendorn (Stevens) won by decision over Zack Zeamer (Lock Haven), 8-2
SF: Joey Olivieri (Rutgers-Unattached) won by major decision over Kyle Slendorn (Stevens), 12-4
3rd: Kyle Slendorn (Stevens) won by decision over Braden Basile (USMAPS), 7-5

149
R16: Hunter Gutierrez (Stevens) won by major decision over Andrew Gapas (Rutgers-Unattached), 8-0
QF: Hunter Gutierrez (Stevens) pinned Drew Lang (Princeton), 2:20
SF: Connor Eck (Lock Haven) won by decision over Hunter Gutierrez (Stevens), 4-2 (SV:1)
3rd: Drew Munch (Lehigh) won by decision over Hunter Gutierrez (Stevens), 8-5

174
R16: Stefan Major (Stevens) pinned Grady Tisdale (Emmanuel), 1:23
QF: Tyler Stolzfus (Loch Haven) won by decision over Stefan Major (Stevens), 12-6
Cons. 8:2: Stefan Major (Stevens) won by decision over Reed Douglass (Presbyterian), 8-6
Cons. 4: Raymond Weed (Rider) pinned Stefan Major (Stevens), 1:06

184
R16: Remy Brancato (Lehigh) won by decision over Frank Medina (Stevens), 10-5
Cons. 16:2 Stratos Kantanas (Rutgers) won by decision over Frank Medina (Stevens), 8-6

Up Next: No. 7 Wrestling competes in its first dual of the season on Nov. 11, taking on Ithaca College at nearby St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City. 

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