Courtesy of gohofstra.com

Bethlehem, Pa. – Hofstra senior Steve Bonanno earned a major decision but nationally ranked Lehigh won the overall match as the Pride fell, 34-7, at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall Friday night.

The Pride fell to 0-7 on the season as the Mountain Hawks won eight bouts. Senior 285-pounder Paul Snyder won the other match for the Pride. Lehigh, which entered ranked 21st by USA Today and 14th by InterMat, improved to 3-1.

Bonanno, ranked 17th by InterMat this week, won the opening match, registering a 13-2 major decision over Alex Abreu at 125 pounds.  Bonanno improved to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in duals.

But Lehigh won the next eight matches, starting with Laike Gardner’s 7-4 victory over Hofstra junior Jamie Franco at 133. Franco built a 2-1 lead after two periods before Gardner put Franco on his back for a three-point nearfall.

At 141, Anthony Salupo upset 10th-ranked Pride junior Luke Vaith, 8-5, by registering take-downs in each period. Shane Walsh won at 149, posting a 20-3 tech fall victory over senior Matt Spataro.

Lehigh’s Joey Napoli, at 157, gave Lehigh a 17-4 lead at the intermission when he pinned red-shirt sophomore Cody Ruggirello at 4:27. Out of the break, Eric Hess notched a pin for his second straight home dual with a combination move to bring down freshman Jay Lysne, who was wrestling up a weight class, in the opening period.

Nathaniel Brown won at 174 for Lehigh with a major decision over sophomore Jermaine John.  Robert Hamlin followed suit with another major decision against senior Taras Luzhnyy. John Bolich logged Lehigh’s final victory of the night with a 7-2 decision over junior Tim Murphy at 197.

Senior Paul Snyder allowed Hofstra to end the match on a positive note with a 5-3 win over Jack Delia in the heavyweight class. Delia sent the match into overtime with a late take down, though Snyder used a spin-behind takedown of Delia 14 seconds into the sudden victory session for the win, upping his overall record to 8-3.

Hofstra will next be in action on Sunday with two matches in Philadelphia, at 1 p.m. against the University of Pennsylvania and at 4 p.m. at CAA-foe Drexel University.

Lehigh 34 Hofstra 7

125 – Steve Bonanno (Hofstra) major dec. Alex Abreu (Lehigh) 13-2

133 – Laike Gardner (Lehigh) dec. Jaime Franco (Hofstra) 7-4

141 – Anthony Salupo (Lehigh) dec. Luke Vaith (Hofstra) 8-5

149 – Shane Welsh (Lehigh) tech fall Matt Spataro (Hofstra) 20-3, 7:00

157 – Joey Napoli (Lehigh) pinned Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) 4:27

165 – Eric Hess (Lehigh) pinned Jay Lysne (Hofstra) 1:39

174 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) major dec. Jermaine John (Hofstra) 10-1

184 – Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) major dec. Taras Luzhnyy (Hofstra) 14-3

197 – John Bolich (Lehigh) dec. Tim Murphy (Hofstra) 7-2

285 – Paul Snyder (Hofstra) dec. Jack Delia (Lehigh) 5-3, s.v.