HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Six Ducks earned victories by decision as No. 7 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling defeated No. 4 United States Coast Guard Academy 18-15 Wednesday evening in a dual meet inside Canavan Arena.

Junior Blaise Wagner scored two takedowns, one in the first period and one in the third period to earn a key victory at 197 for the Ducks, who won their fourth dual of the season to improve to 4-2. Wagner's victory clinched the dual.

Nate Fitt had a tech fall at 149 for the Bears, who dropped its dual opener in falling to 0-1. This was the first ever matchup between the two teams as the Ducks improved to 1-0 all-time over the Bears.

Stevens won six of the 10 contested matches with all of the victories coming by decision.

The Rundown

Graduate student Akhil Vega recorded an early takedown, but he fell to Nikko Beato at 125 via a 5-3 decision. The Coast Guard Academy extended their lead to 6-0 after Chase Randall scored a 9-3 victory over senior Luke Hoerle 9-3. Hoerle scored the early takedown similar to Vega, but could not seal the deal.

Sophomore Nico Diaz earned the Ducks' first points of the match as he picked up a 14-8 decision win over Charlie Gruen. Diaz scored four takedowns in the 141 lbs. bout.

Fitt scored a big tech fall over graduate student Pasquale Vizzoni at 149 to give the Coast Guard a 11-3 lead.

The next two matches were crucial close victories for Stevens. Sophomore Ryan Smith scored a third period victory as he took down Noah Caskey with an escape and a takedown in the final minute to earn a 9-6 win. Junior Harrison Hinojosa followed at 165 and earned a close 9-7 victory over Steven Rochard.

Trailing 11-9, Stevens found ways to continue to earn points as they won the next three bouts via decision to go up 18-11. Senior Stefan Major tallied a last-second takedown to record a 6-5 decision victory over Joe Chapman at 174. At 184, senior Joel Martsiovsky won a low-scoring duel with Caden Stout, taking him down via a 5-1 decision. Wagner then secured the duel victory for the Ducks at 197 as he brought Canavan Arena to its feet by defeating Kenny Marra 8-3.

Carl DiGiorgio defeated junior Max Ruiz at 285 by a 16-6 major to close the dual.

Top Performers

Diaz scored 14 points, which was the highest point total scored by a Duck on the night.
Two of the 10 matches were contested by two nationally-ranked wrestlers, while eight of the ten matches featured at least one ranked wrestler.
For the Opponents

Fitt's 19 points were the most by a Bear wrestler on the evening.

Around the Middle Atlantic Conference

Stevens was the only conference school competing on Wednesday.

Up Next

No. 25 Stevens is off for the holidays. The Ducks return to the mats on January 5 as they host NJCU for a dual in Hoboken. Appropriate links will be posted to StevensDucks.com once available.