Lions Hit The Road To LIU; Head To Hofstra For A Tri-Meet

Friday, January 31

Brookville, N.Y.

5:00 p.m.

Columbia University

LIU

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Steven Ryan

Lions Hit The Road To LIU; Head To Hofstra For A Tri-Meet

1/30/2020 6:27:00 PM | Wrestling

Watch (LIU)Live Stats (LIU)Live Stats (F&M)Watch (Hofstra)Live Stats (Hofstra)

Columbia Wrestling hits the road again, heading to LIU on Jan. 31 before taking on Franklin & Marshall and hosting Hofstra at a tri-meet on Feb. 1.

BROOKVILLE, N.Y./HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – After a weekend off Columbia Wrestling (2-2, 2-1 EIWA/0-1 IVY) returns to the mat for three Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association matches, all on the road, starting with a visit to LIU (2-17, 0-5 EIWA) on Friday, Jan. 31 (5 p.m.) before heading to Hempstead, New York for a tri-meet hosted by Hofstra (4-5, 2-0 EIWA) where Columbia will face both Hofstra and Franklin & Marshall (4-3, 1-2 EIWA) on Saturday, Feb. 1.

HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW
at LIU – Live Stats | Watch (NEC Front Row) | Follow (@ColumbiaWR)
vs. Franklin & Marshall – Live Stats | Follow (@ColumbiaWR)
at Hofstra – Live Stats | Watch | Follow (@ColumbiaWR)

OPENING BLUE GYM WITH A DUB: Columbia opened its home slate of matches for the 2019-20 season with an exciting 21-20 comeback win over American on Jan. 19. The win was powered by victories from first years Kyle Mosher (157), Lennox Wolak (174) and Angelo Rini (133), along with sophomore Sam Wustefeld (197) and junior Riley Jacops (165).

With Columbia needing at least five points to win the match heading into the final bout at 133 pounds, Rini answered the call. The Lion first-year recorded a technical fall win, 22-7, over Daniel Kidd to lock up Columbia's exciting comeback win in its home opener.

RANKED LIONS: Through the opening two months of the season, sophomores Matt Kazimir (16-5) and Joe Manchio (16-6) have both been impressive, and their strong start has been recognized by the national polls, with Manchio sitting at No. 31 at 125 pounds and Kazimir coming in at No. 28 at 141 pounds in the latest Trackwrestling rankings.

Overall, both Kazimir and Manchio have been off to strong starts, with Kazimir already taking a pair of tournament titles (Princeton Open [Nov. 3], Patriot Open [Dec. 7]) and Manchio knocking off the then-ranked No. 14 125-pounder from Stanford and taking the Roadrunner Open (Nov. 24) title all in the same weekend. Along with those tournament wins, both Kazimir and Manchio lead the Lions in wins so far this season with Kazimir and Manchio's 16 wins leading the way, tying them with Mosher for the lead.

WHAT THE SHARKS BRING: LIU enters the match with Columbia having lost their previous eight matches, with their last loss coming in the form of a 38-6 loss at Hofstra on Jan. 26. Friday's match will be the first time that LIU and Columbia have faced each other since LIU combined their sports and joined the EIWA.

In the EIWA, LIU has dropped all five matches they have competed, falling to Sacred Heart, Drexel, Bucknell, Penn and Hofstra. Within the Ivy League, Columbia will be the second Ivy match up for them, having fallen to Penn, 41-3, on Jan. 19.

Jimmy Ryan, at 125 pounds, leads the Sharks with nine wins, while Michael Blando (141) and Dan McClure (184) each sit in second with eight each. Ryan's 7-4 record in dual matches also leads the Sharks, with his record being the lone winning record in dual meets.

PROBABLE LINEUP

AT LIU (JAN. 31)
Brookville, New York (Pratt Recreation Center)

125 | No. 31 Joe Manchio (Columbia) vs. Brandon Mercado (LIU)
133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) vs. Jacob Zuller (LIU)
141 | No. 24 Matt Kazimir -or- Chris Scorese (Columbia) vs. Michael Blando (LIU)
149 | Andrew Garr (Columbia) vs. Rhise Royster (LIU)
157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) vs. Dominick Demarco (LIU)
165 | Riley Jacops (Columbia) vs. Ryan Ferro (LIU)
174 | Lennox Wolak (Columbia) vs. James Langan (LIU)
184 | Joe Franzese -or- Michael Baker (Columbia) vs. Dan McClure (LIU)
197 | Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) vs. Mark Malico (LIU)
285 | Danny Conley (Columbia) vs. Maguire Horl (LIU)

WHAT THE DIPLOMATS BRING: Franklin & Marshall, who will face Bucknell on Jan. 30 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will open the tri-meet by facing Columbia before taking on hosting, Hofstra. Franklin & Marshall's lone EIWA win came in its last match, with a 21-19 win over Brown at home.

All-time, Franklin & Marshall leads the series 11-10-2, and this will be the first meeting between the two sides since 2016, making this the first time that Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli will face the Diplomats while in charge of the Lions. In that 2016 match, held in Morningside, the Lions won 27-15 and in the last match between the two sides not held on Morningside, Columbia won 32-12 at Franklin & Marshall in 2012.

Will Gil (141/149), who sits at 24-7, and Emmett LiCastri (165), who is at 23-8, lead the Diplomats in overall wins. Gill, also owns the best dual meet record on the team, sitting at 6-0, while LiCastri is at 6-1.

PROBABLE LINEUP

FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL (FEB. 1)
Hempstead, New York (David S. Mack Physical Education Center)

125 | No. 31 Joe Manchio (Columbia) vs. Jose Diaz (F & M)
133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) vs. Jack Bruce -or- Mike Simonetti (F & M)
141 | No. 24 Matt Kazimir -or- Chris Scorese (Columbia) vs. Will Gill (F & M)
149 | Andrew Garr (Columbia) vs. Cristiaan Dailey (F & M)
157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) vs. Noah Chan -or- Cole Aaron (F & M)
165 | Riley Jacops (Columbia) vs. Emmett LiCastri (F & M)
174 | Lennox Wolak (Columbia) vs. Crew Fullerton -or- John Crawford (F & M)
184 | Joe Franzese -or- Michael Baker (Columbia) vs. Jimmy Stillerman -or- Reid Robilotto (F & M)
197 | Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) vs. Ethan Seeley -or- Mike Waszen (F & M)
285 | Danny Conley (Columbia) vs. Cenzo Pelusi (F & M)

WHAT THE PRIDE BRING: Before hosting Columbia and Frank & Marshall, Hofstra will host Davidson on Jan. 31, before taking on Franklin & Marshall in the tri-meet ahead of its meeting with Columbia. Hofstra enters the weekend having won its previous match, 38-6, over LIU on Jan. 26, and the Pride have won three out of its last four matches.

All-time, Hofstra holds a 16-14-2 advantage over Columbia, but the Lions took a 25-18 victory in the last meeting between the two, in a match on Morningside in 2019. The last time Columbia visited Hempstead, the Pride took the match, 24-12, in 2018, and Columbia's last win at Hofstra came in 2016.

At 149 pounds, Reece Heller leads the Pride with a 15-8 record, while at 133/141 pounds Justin Hoyle holds a 14-6 season record. In dual meets, Dylan Ryder (125) leads the team with a 6-2 record and Trey Rogers at 197 pounds is 6-3 on the year in dual meets.

PROBABLE LINEUP

AT HOFSTRA (FEB. 1)
Hempstead, New York (David S. Mack Physical Education Center)

125 | No. 31 Joe Manchio (Columbia) vs. Dylan Ryder (Hofstra)
133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) vs. Justin Hoyle -or- Garrett Lambert (Hofstra)
141 | No. 24 Matt Kazimir -or- Chris Scorese (Columbia) vs. Vinny Vespa (Hofstra)
149 | Andrew Garr (Columbia) vs. Reece Heller (Hofstra)
157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) vs. Holden Heller (Hofstra)
165 | Riley Jacops (Columbia) vs. Ricky Stamm (Hofstra)
174 | Lennox Wolak (Columbia) vs. Sage Heller (Hofstra)
184 | Joe Franzese -or- Michael Baker (Columbia) vs. Charles Small (Hofstra)
197 | Sam Wustefeld (Columbia) vs. Trey Rogers (Hofstra)
285 | Danny Conley (Columbia) vs. Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra)

FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on Twitter (@ColumbiaWR), Instagram (@columbiawr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).