HOFSTRA UNIVERSITYWRESTLING

#6 Hofstra Pride (6-1)at

NWCA/Cliff Keen National DualsCleveland State University • Cleveland, OH

Saturday - Sunday, January 22-23, 2005

2004-05 HOFSTRAWRESTLING SCHEDULE/RESULTS

Nov. 19 at #3 Nebraska 17-21 LNov. 20 at The Omaha Open ---------Nov. 28 #2 LEHIGH 23-10 WDec. 3-4 at Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational 3rd pl.Dec. 11 at Boston University* 36-9 WDec. 11 at Harvard 39-6 WJan. 9 at Sacred Heart* 42-6 WJan. 15 #23 ARMY 28-9 W (Hofstra Wrestling Alumni Day)Jan. 16 at #22 PennsylvaniaJan. 22-23 at NWCA-CK National Duals All DayJan. 22 vs. #14 Northern Iowa 11 a.m.Jan. 29 at West Virginia 1 p.m.Jan. 30 at Old Dominion* 1 p.m.Feb. 5 CORNELL 1 p.m. (Chief Ray Downey Memorial Scholarship Day)Feb. 12 at Drexel* NoonFeb. 12 at Wagner* 6:30 p.m.Feb. 13 OKLAHOMA STATE 10 a.m.Feb. 15 RIDER* 7 p.m.Feb. 18 Columbia 7 p.m.Mar. 4-5 at CAA Championships All-Day

(at Boston, MA)Mar. 17-19 NCAA Championships All Day

(at St. Louis, MO)* - CAA match;

HOFSTRA NOTES, STREAKS AND TIDBITS:• Hofstra is riding a six-match winning streak in dualmatches this season. The Pride has won 14 of its last 16dual matches dating back to last season. Hofstra’s onlylosses during that time came at then seventh-ranked

Lehigh 25-9 on February 6, 2004, and third-rankedNebraska 21-17 on November 19, 2004.

• Hofstra is undefeated in 37 consecutive dual conferencematches posting a 36-0-1 record during that time. The lasttime Hofstra dropped a conference match was February17, 1999 when the Broncs of Rider beat the Pride 28-10 inan East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) match.Today's Penn match is a non-conference match.

• The Pride are also on a six-match home winning streakdating back to the start of the 2003-04 season. The lastdual match that the Pride dropped was on November 29,2003 when the ninth-ranked Cornhuskers of Nebraskadowned Hofstra 30-10.

• Hofstra has dropped just five weight class matches onthe mat in its last five dual matches and three of thoselosses came at Penn on Sunday, January 16, 2005. All theother points by opponents came by forfeit.

• This is Hofstra’s 57th season of intercollegiate wrestling.The Pride has had nine coaches direct the wrestlingprogram, beginning with Walter “Brick” Stone in 1947and currently with Tom Ryan, who is in his 10th season.

• Hofstra sent eight wrestlers to the 2004 NCAAChampionships in St, Louis last March. Four graduated.But the Pride still have seven NCAA qualifiers on their2004-05 roster. Four (Chris Skretkowicz, Paul Siemon,John Manarte, and James Strouse) from last year andthree (Ricky LaForge, Jon Masa and Mike Patrovich)from the 2003 Championships.

HOFSTRA HEAD COACH TOM RYAN: Tom Ryanis in his 10th season as Head Wrestling Coach at HofstraUniversity. During that time he has rebuilt the Pride into aTop 20 caliber program. He is 91-70-1 at Hofstra but hasposted an 84-45-1 mark during the past seven seasons.Ryan has received the Coach of the Year award six times,including five straight times dating back to 2000, and haswon four consecutive conference championships.

HOFSTRA INTHE NWCA/CLIFF KEENNATIONALDUALS: ThePride areseeded fifth in

this year's NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals at theCleveland State University (OH) Convocation Center.The Division I field includes 13 programs ranked in theTop 22 in this week's USA Today/NWCA Poll. Thoseschools competing that are ranked include OklahomaState (1), Illinois (2), Michigan (4), Lehigh (5), Hofstra(6), Minnesota (8), Oklahoma (10), Cornell (11), CentralMichigan (12), Northern Iowa (14), Arizona State (16),Penn State (21) and West Virginia (22). They will be

joined by the host Vikings of Cleveland State, The Citadeland Cal Poly to round out the field of 16. Hofstra, seededfifth in the field, will face #14 Northern Iowa (3-4), forthe first time, in the opening round on Saturday at 11 a.m.The other half of that bracket has Cal Poly meetingfourth-seeded and fifth-ranked Lehigh. (See enclosedentire bracket) The other six seeds are Oklahoma State(1), Illinois (2), Michigan (3), Minnesota (6), Oklahoma(7), Cornell (8). The Pride placed seventh with a 3-3record in the 2004 NWCA National Duals. Hofstradefeated #18 Central Michigan (18-17), #16 Cornell (16-15) and #20 Pennsylvania (23-15), and lost to #5 Missouri(19-13), #8 Michigan (10-31) and #13 Oklahoma (15-28).

PROJECTED HOFSTRA STARTERS: Here areHofstra's projected starters heading into the NWCA/CliffKeen National DualsClass Name Record InterMat/AWN/WIN125 Dave Tomasette 11-5 NR/NR/NR133 Charles Griffin 14-3 NR/NR/20141 Ricky LaForge 16-3 6/9/7149 Jon Masa 11-4 5/5/6 or

John Manarte 7-6 NR/NR/NR157 James Strouse 13-5 NR/NR/NR165 Mike Patrovich 5-0 13/17/19174 Paul Siemon 14-4 10/17/13184 Joe Rovelli 12-4 NR/NR/NR197 Chris Skretkowicz 16-1 2/2/2HWT Gian Villante 1-2 NR/NR/NR

USA TODAY/NWCA/INTERMATRANKINGS: The Hofstra Pride movedup one spot in this week’s (Jan. 18) USAToday/NWCA NCAA Division IWrestling Poll. Hofstra, who is nowranked sixth in the nation, has posted thesecond highest wrestling ranking in

school history. Hofstra was ranked fourth in a preseasonpoll in 2003-04. Individually, five Hofstra wrestlers areranked in the Top 20 in their respective weight classes.Senior Chris Skretkowicz remains ranked second in thecountry at 197 pounds. Skretkowicz is now 16-1 on theseason. Junior Jon Masa also holds steady at number fiveat 149 pounds this week. Masa is 11-4 on the season.Senior Ricky LaForge also hold strong at number six at141 pounds this week. LaForge is 16-3 on the season.Senior Paul Siemon, who is now 14-4 on the year, alsoremained unchanged this week at number 10 at 174pounds. Junior Mike Patrovich, who is now 5-0 on theyear, moved up one spot from 14 to 13 this week at 165pounds. Freshman Charles Griffin, who was 17th at 133pounds last week, fell out of the ranking this week, afterhis loss at Penn, despite a 14-3 record this year.

USA TODAY/NWCA DIVISION I POLL

As of January 19, 2005

No. Team (1st pl. votes) W-L Pts.1 Oklahoma State (11) 8-0 4402 Illinois 6-0 4293 Iowa State 12-0 4184 Michigan 6-1 4065 Lehigh 12-1 3936 Hofstra 6-1 3827 Nebraska 13-1-1 3808 Minnesota 2-3 3579 Iowa 5-2 35210 Oklahoma 8-1 34811 Cornell 3-2 32112 Central Michigan 6-1 32013 Wisconsin 6-1-1 31314 Northern Iowa 3-4 28715 Missouri 13-2 27616 Arizona State 5-4-1 26017 Indiana 8-1 25718 Northwestern 7-0 24919 Navy 8-3 23720 Michigan State 3-2 22821 Penn State 4-4 22422 West Virginia 2-2 21523 Pennsylvania 3-2 20024 Army 8-3 18925 Northern Illinois 10-2 180

HOFSTRA LAST WEEKJANUARY 15, 2005 vs. #23 ARMY: Four Pridewrestlers posted major decisions to lead seventh-rankedHofstra to a 28-9 victory over the 23rd-ranked BlackKnights of Army at the Hofstra Arena. The Prideimproved to 5-1 this year while Army slipped to 8-3. ThePride won eight of the nine matches contested on the matas only 13th-ranked junior Luke Calvert was able to posta mat win for Army with an 11-4 decision over Pridefreshman Joe Rovelli. Army also won by forfeit withNathan Thobaben taking the victory at heavyweight. Buttrailing 9-3 after the heavyweight forfeit, Hofstra wouldnot lose again. Redshirt freshman Dave Tomasette (10-5)jumped out to an 8-1 first period lead and never lookedback on the way to a 12-2 major decision over TravisFeatherstone (8-7) at 125 pounds. Hofstra's 17th-rankedfreshman Charles Griffin (14-2) blanked Army juniorTony Severo (13-9) 11-0 at 133 pounds to give Hofstrathe lead at 11-9. Sixth-ranked senior Ricky LaForge (15-3) made it three straight major decisions for Hofstra withan 11-1 win over Patrick Simpson (13-7) at 141 pounds.At 149 pounds, Hofstra's fifth-ranked junior Jon Masa(11-4), making his first appearance on the mat in a weekafter struggling with the flu, was taken to the limit byfreshman Aaron Wernimont (7-8) before being able to

squeeze out an 8-7 win. Sophomore James Strouse (12-5)recorded a 10-1 major decision over Brandon Benson (7-9) at 157 pounds before 14th-ranked junior MikePatrovich (4-0) posted a 6-1 victory over Chad Marzec(12-7) at 165. The Pride's 10th-ranked senior Paul Siemon(14-3) closed out the match with an 8-3 decision overScott Ferguson (2-1). The victory was also Hofstra's sixthconsecutive home victory dating back to the start of the2003-04 season.

JANUARY 16, 2005 AT #22 PENNSYLVANIA: JamesStrouse and Mike Patrovich posted major decisionvictories and Joe Rovelli and Chris Skretkowicz recordedlate match decisions to lead the seventh-ranked Pride ofHofstra to a 23-18 victory over 22nd-ranked Penn Sundayafternoon at the Palestra. With their sixth consecutivedual match victory, the Pride improves to 6-1 on theseason while the Quakers fall to 1-2. Hofstra trailed justonce in the match after the 133-pound match as freshmanCharles Griffin was upset on a pin with one secondremaining by Jeff Eveleth to give Penn a 6-3 advantage.That followed an 11-6 victory by Dave Tomasette at 125pounds. But Pride senior Ricky LaForge won by forfeit at141 pounds to give Hofstra a 9-6 lead. At 149, Hofstrajunior Jon Masa stayed home with the flu and JohnManarte filled in and dropped a 3-2 decision to SteveSwentzel to tie the match at 9-9. But Strouse posted a 10-0 major decision over Brock Wittmeyer at 157 andPatrovich tallied a 14-4 major over Rich Ferguson to giveHofstra a 17-9 lead. Hofstra senior Paul Siemon was upsetby Dustin Wiles 3-1 at 174 to close the Quaker deficit to17-12. But freshman Joe Rovelli posted a 4-0 victory overDan Gallagher at 184 and Chris Skretkowicz notched a 6-0 win over Marcus Schontube at 197 to allow the Pride topull away. The Pride forfeited the heavyweight match toMatt Feast to close the match at 23-18.

HOFSTRA RANKED 9TH BY W.I.N. MAGAZINETHIS WEEK: W.I.N. Magazine has released its ninth2004-2005 NCAA Division I wrestling rankings and theHofstra Pride have remained at number nine in the latestrankings (Jan. 18). There were no changes in the top 10But there were 11 changes from 11 through 25 this week.Individually, six Hofstra wrestlers are ranked in thisweek's W.I. N. Magazine Individual Rankings. SeniorChris Skretkowicz (Hamburg, NJ) remains ranked secondat 197 pounds, junior Jon Masa (Long Beach, NY) holdsat sixth at 149, and senior Ricky LaForge (PomptonLakes, NJ) moves up one place to seventh at 141 pounds.Senior Paul Siemon (Paramus, NJ) remains at 13th at 174pounds, junior Mike Patrovich (Bohemia, NY) holds at19th at 165 and freshman Charles Griffin (Reading, PA)fell from 19 to 20 this week.

W.I.N. MAGAZINE’S TOP 25Team (Previous Ranking from Jan. 11, 2005)1. Oklahoma State (1st)2. Michigan (2nd)3. Illinois (3rd)4. Iowa State (4th)5. Lehigh (5th)6. Nebraska (6th)7. Minnesota (7th)8. Iowa (8th)9. Hofstra (9th)10. Oklahoma (10th)11. Cornell (11th)12. Central Michigan (15th)13. Missouri (12th)14. Wisconsin (13th)15. Arizona State (14th)16. Northern Iowa (16th)17. West Virginia (17th)18. Indiana (19th)19. Michigan State (18th)20. Northwestern (21st)21. Bakersfield (23rd)22. Navy (22nd)23. Penn State (20th)24. Edinboro (25th)25. Army (24th)

HOFSTRA IN THE POLLSDate NWCA WIN AWN TWMPreseason - T13th 12th 16th 16thNov. 22 - 10th 11th NP NPNov. 29 - NP 8th NP NPDec. 7- 8th 8th 16th 10thDec. 14- NP NP NP NPDec. 21- NP 8th NP NPDec. 28- NP NP NP NPJan. 4- 8th 9th 8th 11thJan. 11- 7th 9th NP 11thJan. 18 6th 9th NP NANP - No poll taken that week.NR - Team not rankedNA - Not available at press time

NCAA WRESTLINGCHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS:Tickets for the 2005 NCAADivision I WrestlingChampionships are available bycalling (877) 722-1604. The 2005Championships will be heldMarch 17-19 at the Saavis Center

in St. Louis, Missouri.

WEDDING BELLS: The Pride had some wedding bellsgo off during the holidays in December as assistant coach

Donnie Pritzlaff married Robin Schrafnagel in Wisconsinon New Year's Eve while 197-pound senior ChrisSkretkowicz popped the question to his future wife, Ms.Megan Yurchak. No date has been set for that wedding.

TOMASETTE NAMED CAA ROOKIE OF THEWEEK: Redshirt freshman Dave Tomasette (Sewell, NJ)has been named the Colonial Athletic Association Rookieof the Week after posting two victories in dual matchwins over Army and Penn last weekend. Tomasetteposted a 12-2 major decision over Travis Featherstone ofArmy and an 11-6 decision over Mason Lenhard of Pennto share the Rookie Award with Joe Coughlin, a fellow125-pounder, from George Mason.

HOFSTRA'S CAA WEEKLY AWARDSNov. 21 - Chris Skretkowicz - Wrestler of the Week

Charles Griffin - Co-Rookie of the WeekDec. 7 - Chris Skretkowicz - Wrestler of the WeekDec. 21 -Chris Skretkowicz - Wrestler of the Week

Charles Griffin - Rookie of the WeekJan. 18 - Dave Tomasette - Rookie of the Week.

HOFSTRA CONTINUES CONFERENCE WINNINGSTREAK: The Pride extended their conference dualmatch undefeated streak to 37 with their win at SacredHeart last Sunday. Hofstra, which lost its last conferencedual match in 1998-99, was 6-0-1 in 1999-2000, 6-0-0 in2000-01, 6-0-0 in 2001-02, 7-0-0 in 2002-03, and 8-0-0 in2003-04. The last time Hofstra dropped a conference dualmatch was on February 17, 1999 when the Broncs ofRider beat the Pride 28-10 in an East Coast WrestlingAssociation (ECWA) match.

HOFSTRA FAVOREDAGAIN IN THE CAA: TheHofstra Pride are the preseasonfavorite to record their fifthconsecutive conferencechampionship in a vote of theColonial Athletic Association

coaches. The Pride, who have all 10 wrestlers ranked inthe CAA top six, accumulated 56 points in the preseasonpoll. Rider (38) and Drexel (34), each with 10 rankedwrestlers, placed second and third, respectively in thepoll. Boston and Sacred Heart round out the top half ofthe CAA preseason poll. Old Dominion, George Mason,Wagner, Campbell and James Madison complete thepreseason poll.

TWO PRIDE WRESTLERS NAMED TO CAAPRESEASON ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: FreshmenCharles Griffin at 133 pounds and Joe Rovelli at 184pounds have been named to the 2004-05 CAA PreseasonAll-Freshman Team in a vote by conference coaches.Dusty McKinney from George Mason was picked at 125,Mike Roberts from Boston University was selected at141, Hunter Davenport from Old Dominion was chosen at149, Billy Haydt from Drexel was picked at 157, Chris

Tripp from B.U. was selected at 165, Randy Oates fromGeorge Mason was chosen at 174, Jon Oplinger fromDrexel was picked at 197 and Alex Eaton from ODU wasselected at heavyweight in the preseason All-FreshmanTeam.

HOFSTRA WRESTLING PRONUNCIATIONS:125- Tomasette (TOM-a-set-e)141 - Manarte (ma-Nar-dee)149 - Masa (MAH-sa)165 - Patrovich (PAT-tro-vitch)

Vondruska (Von-droo-ska)Serie (SA-ree)

174 - Paul Siemon (sa-moan)Billy Simons (SY-mons)

184 - Rovelli (RO-vell-ee)197 - Skretkowicz (Strek-ko-witz)

Weidman (Wide-men)Hwt - Gian Villante (Jon• Vill-ahn-tay)

Garay (GA-ray)