The 18th-ranked Pride finished in a ninth place tie with #25 Virginia with 65.5 points. #7 Penn State and #1 Cornell shared the team title with 151.5 points each. Oregon State was third with 132.5 points, #16 Michigan was fourth with 132 and #4 Minnesota was fifth with 126.5 points in the 34-team field.
Ruggirello, the top seed and fourth ranked overall at 133 pounds, dropped a 6-0 decision to second-seed and ninth-ranked Rollie Peterkin from Pennsylvania in the 133-pound championship match Thursday night. Ruggirello opened the second day with an 11-0 major decision over Edinboro's Eric Morrill in the quarterfinals. He followed that match with his second pin of the tournament in 32 seconds over Oregon State's 14th-ranked Kelly Kubec. Ruggirello is now 14-3 on the season.
Junior P.J. Gillespie placed fourth at 165 pounds, posting a 2-2 record on Thursday to boost his season mark to 13-4. He opened the day with a 2-1 victory over Penn State's Jake Kemmerer in the quarterfinals before losing to Minnesota's Cody Yohn, ranked seventh by InterMat, 4-0 in the semifinals. He posted a 3-2 win over Appalachian State's Kyle Blevins in the consolation semifinals before dropping a 4-3 decision to Turtogtokh Luvsandorj from The Citadel in the third place match.
Five other Pride wrestlers were in action on day two of the Scuffle. Junior Vince Varela, Hofstra's third and final championship bracket competitor at 141 pounds entering Thursday's competition. He dropped a 3-2 decision to top-seeded and top-ranked Kellen Russell from Michigan in the quarterfinals and then dropped a 3-2 decision to Ohio's 14th-ranked Germaine Lindsey in the consolations. Varela is now 10-8 on the season.
Sophomore Steve Bonanno posted a 1-1 day at 125 pounds in the consolation bracket Thursday. He opened the day with a 4-2 victory over Navy's Aaron Kalil before being eliminated by Cornell's 13th-ranked Frank Perrelli, 10-4. Bonanno is now 11-7 on the year.
Junior Ben Clymer also posted a 1-1 mark in the 184-pound consolations Thursday. He defeated VMI's John Dommert, 7-0, before dropping a 5-2 decision to Virginia's 17th-ranked Jon Fausey. Clymer is now 5-5 on the season.
Sophomores Tyler Banks (157 pounds) and Paul Snyder (285) both went 0-1 Thursday morning and were eliminated. Banks dropped a 6-2 decision to Michigan's Aaron Hynes in the fourth round of the consolations. He is now 11-6 on the year. Snyder was pinned by Ohio's Andy Hartshorn in 2:33 in the third round of the consolations. Snyder is 10-9 on the season.
The Pride will return to action on Saturday, January 8 when they host the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina at the David S. Mack Sports Complex. Match time is 1 p.m.
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