Eight Ducks Keep Nationals Hopes Alive as Wrestling Posts Strong Day One at NCAA Regionals

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Eight Ducks remained alive for berths at Nationals as the Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team opened NCAA Regionals Saturday with a strong showing on the mats.

Naci Robinson (125), Luke Hoerle (141), Carmen Cortese (149), Ryan Smith (157), Chris Stathopoulos (165), Harrison Hinojosa (174), Joel Martsinovsky (184), Blaise Wagner (197), and Max Ruiz (285) were all competing in regionals for Stevens, with the upper eight weight classes all advancing to the final day of competition tomorrow.

The Rundown

Naci Robinson picked up a 9-4 decision win in the consolation bracket, but suffered a pair of defeats, ending his quest for nationals.
One of seven Ducks to finish the day unbeaten (and the only one with three wins), Hoerle, the reigning 133-pound regional champion, posted a trifecta of technical fall wins, registering six takedowns in all three contests.
Cortese began his 2-0 day with a technical fall win, ending the match with a four-point near-fall, then posted four takedowns in a 14-5 major decision win to move to the semis tomorrow.
Reigning regional champion at 157 pounds, Smith's day on the mats consisted of a pin in 2:38 and a four-takedown 17-2 tech fall win.
On a day full of pins for the Ducks, Stathopoulos was one of two to finish both his matches that way, wrapping his first match in 2:17 and his quarterfinal in 3:34.
Hinojosa started his day with a pin in 1:24 and ended it with a 14-2 major decision win in the quarters, notching four takedowns during the match.
Seeking a second straight trip to nationals, Martsinovsky started his day with a pin in 2:29 and capped it with a 20-5 tech fall.
The other Duck alongside Stathopoulos to pin both of his opponents Saturday, Wagner wrapped his first match in 1:40 and his quarterfinal contest in 5:26
Ruiz started his day with a pin in the final minute of his match. After suffering a loss via fall at the hands of RIT's Josh Harkless, the No. 3 ranked 285-pounder in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) rankings, Ruiz kept his nationals hopes alive by picking up his second pin of the day in the consolation bracket, and needs three wins to claim third place tomorrow.

Top Performers

Already the team leader in wins, Wagner earned his 28^th and 29^th victories of the year
Cortese picked up his 25^th (and 26^th) wins of the season.
Smith and Hionjosa each picked up their 20^th wins of the year.
As a whole, the team collected nine wins by pin.

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