Springfield, Mass. – The Johnson & Wales University wrestling team, currently ranked No. 18 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, notched a second place finish at the New England Wrestling Coaches Association Duals at Springfield College on Sunday afternoon. JWU, the second seeded team in the tournament, posted a 34-13 victory against MIT in the opening round before posting a 31-10 win over seventh seeded Southern Maine in the quarterfinals. After a 24-13 win over Wesleyan in the semifinals, the third seeded team on the duals, the Wildcats dropped a 31-15 decision against #18 Williams, the top seed for the tournament in the championship match.

Junior 184 pounder Brennan Ward (Waterford, Conn.), currently ranked No. 8 nationally, was a perfect 3-0 for the day with a major decision, a win via tech fall and a win by pin fall for the Wildcats. Junior Michael Bastante (Totowa, N.J.) also had a 3-0 record on the day for JWU at 125 pounds.

Johnson & Wales is now 15-7 in dual matches for the season and will return to action on Friday, January 29th when they host intra-state rival Rhode Island College in a Pilgrim League contest, starting at 7:00 p.m.

#2 Johnson and Wales (34) def. #15 MIT (13)
125: Brian Conley (JWU) wins by forfeit, (6-0)
133: James Soprano (JWU) major dec. Bee Vang (MIT), 15-5 (10-0)
141: Kenzan Tanabe (MIT) major dec. Daniel Franco (JWU), 13-3 (10-4)
149: Thomas Webster (JWU) pinned Michael Gerhardt (MIT), 0:34 (16-4)
157: Terrell Webster (JWU) wins by forfeit, (22-4)
165: Ryan Madson (MIT) pinned Alex Shea (JWU), 2:54 (22-10)
174: Connor Nelson (JWU) dec. Luke Schiefelbein (MIT), 10-6 (25-10)
184: Brennan Ward (JWU) wins by forfeit, (31-10)
197: Blake McNulty (JWU) dec. Brian Anderson (MIT), 10-4 (34-10)
285: Joe Silverman (MIT) dec. Kadeem Goodall-Reid (JWU), 1-0 (34-13)

#2 JWU (31) def. #7 Southern Maine (10)
125: Michael Bastante (JWU) wins by forfeit, (6-0)
133: Nicholas Cucciniello (JWU) pinned William Cole (SM), 3:40 (12-0)
141: Matt Ulrich (SM) dec. John Donaleski (JWU), 6-2 (12-3)
149: Doug Christensen (SM) dec. Thomas Webster (JWU), 6-2 (12-6)
157: Terrell Webster (JWU) dec. Peter Gilman (SM), 4-3 (15-6)
165: Michael Morin (SM) major dec. Jordan Corona (JWU), 14-2 (15-10)
174: Colin Lenhardt (JWU) pinned Curt Hill (SM), 1:40 (21-10)
184: Brennan Ward (JWU) major dec. James LaMarca (SM), 13-4 (25-10)
197: Patrick McCrohan (JWU) dec. Chaz Guthrie (SM), 7-3 (28-10)
285: Jon Flegel (JWU) dec. Ryan Stanton (SM), 5-4 (31-10)

#2 Johnson and Wales (24) def. #3 Wesleyan (13)
125: Michael Bastante (JWU) dec. Dan Bloom (W), 5-4 (3-0)
133: Nicholas Cucciniello (JWU) wins by injury forfeit Christopher Alvanos (W), (9-0)
141: Howard Tobochnik (W) dec. John Donaleski (JWU), 11-9 (9-3)
149: Thomas Webster (JWU) dec. Tom Oddo (W), 14-9 (12-3)
157: David Bachy (W) dec. Terrell Webster (JWU), 11-6 (12-6)
165: Joshua Barkovic (W) dec. Jordan Corona (JWU), 6-1 (12-9)
174: Colin Lenhardt (JWU) major dec. Kyle Roosa (W), 14-3 (16-9)
184: Gregory Hurd (W) major dec. Connor Nelson (JWU), 13-4 (16-13)
197: Brennan Ward (JWU) tech. fall Jefferson Ajayi (W), 18-2 (21-13)
285: Kadeemo Goodall-Reid (JWU) dec. Daniel Conroy (W), 7-6 (24-13)

#1 Williams (31) def. #2 Johnson & Wales (15)
125: Michael Bastante (JW) dec. Josh Mattana (W), 10-8 (0-3)
133: Nicholas Cucciniello (JW) dec. Ces Antista (W), 10-9 (0-6)
141: Dylan Rittenberg (W) pinned John Donaleski (JW), 2:25 (6-6)
149: Corey Paulish (W) major dec. Thomas Webster (JW), 11-0 (10-6)
157: Carl Breitenstein (W) pinned Terrell Webster (JW), 1:56 (16-6)
165: John Foster (W) dec. Jordan Corona (JW), 8-3 (19-6)
174: George Sullivan (W) pinned Conner Nelson (JW) 3:28 (25-6)
184: Brennan Ward (JW) pinned Andrew Gatewood (W), :52 (25-12)
197: Ryan Malo (W) pinned Patrick McCrohan (JW), 2:48 (31-12)
285: Humphrey Swift (JW) dec. Tom Foote (W), 8-3 (31-15)