HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 5, 2024) – No. 7/7 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling won all seven contested bouts in a convincing 50-0 victory over New Jersey City University Friday in a non-conference dual at Canavan Arena. The contest marked the first-ever meeting between the schools that are located roughly five miles from one another.

Graduate student Stefan Major and senior Joel Martsinovsky each had pins for the Ducks, who won five of their seven victories on the night with bonus points, in improving to 5-2 on the year. Stevens has won each of its last two duals. The Ducks' 50-point margin of victory was the largest for the program since a 51-0 victory over Yeshiva on Dec. 4, 2013, and marked the second straight season with a shutout of an opponent.

NJCU forfeited matches at 125, 197 and 285 to open the dual and drop the Gothic Knights to 2-10. NJCU has lost five straight duals. 

Prior to the dual, Stevens honored its five-person Class of 2024: seniors Michael Conrad and Andrew Finateri, Major, Martsinovsky, and graduate student Akhil Vega, in a pre-match ceremony.

The Rundown

• After the three forfeits were officially recorded, the dual began at 133 with the Ducks holding an 18-0 lead. Senior Luke Hoerle and sophomore Nico Diaz posted consecutive technical falls to push the advantage to 28. Hoerle, ranked 10th by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and 11th by The Open Mat, opened an 18-4 lead through the first period, scoring five takedowns and a three-point near-fall. NJCU's Dean Cosentino registered an escape at the start of the second, but Hoerle quickly regrouped and took down Cosentino for the sixth time to end the match for his team-leading 13th tech fall of the season.
• Diaz, meanwhile, used a pair of takedowns and a three-point near-fall to take a 9-1 lead over Andy Beras through the opening period. After collecting an escape point at the start of the second, Diaz added a pair of takedowns to earn the stoppage for his fifth tech fall of the year.
• Graduate student Pasquale Vizzoni, who moved to 19th in the country at 149 in the most recent The Open Mat rankings, built a seven-point lead with a takedown and a four-point near-fall. The margin proved to be too much for Zack Vera to overcome as the Ducks' 149-pounder added the riding time point to put the finishing touches on an 8-1 decision victory.
• Perhaps the marquee match of the night came at 157, where both sophomore Ryan Smith and NJCU's Jef Johnson entered with perfect records. Smith, ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the two top national polls, had the first points of the match with an early takedown, but Johnson, who climbed to second in the Mideast Region according to the most recent NWCA poll, reversed and added a near-fall to take a 4-3 lead. Smith, however, worked his way back to his feet to earn the escape point to send the wrestlers into the second period tied at four.
• Smith's escape at the start of the second period, which was followed by a takedown, proved to be a pivotal four-point swing. Johnson escaped out and entered the third period behind and scored the first two points of the final period, but Smith was able to prevent any further damage and came away with an 8-7 victory for his seventh straight victory.
• Harrison Hinojosa continued his breakout junior campaign with a 12-4 major over Ty Bailey at 165. The Haddon Township, New Jersey native built a comfortable 9-1 lead through two periods and then added an escape at the start of the third. Bailey was able to score with a takedown in the final minute to trim Hinojosa's lead to 10-4. Hinojosa appeared to be in a position for his eighth decision victory of the year, but the third-year grappler was credited with an escape just before the final buzzer sounded and when the riding time was added to his total, he came away with his third major of the year to improve to 14-3.
• The Ducks closed out the dual in a big way, with Major and Martsinovsky recording back-to-back first-period pins over Ryan McGuire and Pierre Francois, respectively, at 174 and 184. With the victories, Major improved to 13-6 on the year, while Martsinovsky moved to 18-5. 

Top Performers

• Hoerle's tech fall extended the Westfield, New Jersey's native's streak of bonus-point wins to 17. Each of his victories in the 2023-24 season have come with bonus points.
• Major's pin was the Fort Salonga, New York native's team-leading seventh of the year. 

For the Opponents

• Smith's defeat of Johnson at 157 marked the Gothic Knights' wrestler's first loss of the season. 

Around the Middle Atlantic Conference 

• Prior to the winter break, No. 12/11 Alvernia went 5-0 at the Kalahari Duals, held on Dec. 16 in Sandusky, Ohio and hosted by Heidelberg University. The Wolves won all five duals by at least 19 points. Alvernia returns to competition tomorrow morning for Ursinus' Manganaro Duals.
• Delaware Valley competed twice prior to the Winter Break, downing Wilkes 29-15 in a home dual on Dec. 8 and then posting four victories at the Kalahari Duals. The Aggies return to the mats tomorrow for the Penn Tech Invitational. 
• King's downed both NJCU (42-13) and Keystone (49-6) in a tri-match on Dec. 16 before closing out the fall semester at the Wilkes Open six days later. The Monarchs kick off competition in 2024 on Jan. 9 with a home dual against No. 12/11 Alvernia.
• Messiah went 4-1 over its last five duals to wrap up the fall semester. The Falcons split a triangular with Marymount and McDaniel on Dec. 9, topping the Saints 39-12 before falling to the hosting Green Terror by a narrow two-point margin. Messiah then hosted the Chocolate Duals on Dec. 16, scoring wins over Shenandoah, Ohio Wesleyan and Ithaca. They will join Alvernia in competing at Ursinus' Manganaro Duals on Jan. 6.
• York closed out its fall semester competition with its annual two-day New Standard Corporation Invitational on Dec. 1-2. The Spartans finished 12th out of 15 teams and had one place-winner. York will join Alvernia and Messiah at the Manganaro Duals for the first competition of the spring semester. 

Up Next

• No. 7/7 Stevens will make the first of two trips to Williamsport, Pennsylvania on Saturday, Jan. 12 for Lycoming's Budd Whitehill Duals. It will be the program's second straight trip to the annual event held to honor the longtime former Lycoming head coach. The Ducks finished second one year ago. Appropriate match information will be posted to StevensDucks.com once available.

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