NEW YORK, N.Y. – Sophomores Daniel Del Gallo (Gardiner, Maine) and Kevin Moore (Owls Head, Maine/Mt. Blue) each earned a pair of victories as the University of Southern Maine Huskies' wrestling team took to the mats at the world famous Madison Square Garden as part of the 2014 Grapple at the Garden in midtown Manhattan. Madison Square Garden's event highlighted collegiate wrestling across all NCAA Divisions and had the Huskies' competing alongside of Division I powers Cornell and Lehigh.
The Huskies' opened their day competing against nationally-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology. Ranked 19th in NCAA Division III, the Ducks defeated the Huskies 33-9, dropping the Huskies' dual meet record to 7-3. The Ducks improved their dual meet record to 3-2 (3-1 against NCAA Division III teams). Facing steep competition, the Huskies battled valiantly and received points from Del Gallo, Moore and senior Sean Fagan (Arlington, Mass.). Moore posted USM's first points of the match earning a 4-0 decision over SIT's Aaron Wolfgang at 141 pounds. Del Gallo followed with an 8-1 victory over Ricky Perrine at 149 pounds before Fagan rumbled his way to a 5-0 win over Michael Otsuka at 197 pounds.
In their second match of the day, Southern Maine battled its way to a 25-17 victory that hinged on the final bout of the day. With the win over the Mules, Southern Maine improved its dual meet record to 8-3, while Muhlenberg competing in its first dual meet of the season stands at 0-1 with the loss.
The Huskies fell behind Muhlenberg 11-0 after the 125 and 133-pound matches were decided but bounced back winning the next five bouts to grab a narrow 22-11 advantage. Moore again started the scoring for the Huskies with a 5-2 decision over Ben Peck at 141 pounds. Del Gallo put together another strong effort for a 16-3 major decision victory at a 149-pounds with a win over Che Chengsupanimit, before sophomore Carl Luth (Milford, Conn./Foran) fought for a 7-2 decision over Sean Kelly at 157 pounds. Huskies' freshman Daniel DeCarlo (Port Jervis, N.Y.) put his team ahead for good with a key win over Jake Gordon at 165 pounds. DeCarlo put his opponent to the mat in 6:58, securing the Huskies' first lead of the match at 16-11. Sophomore Aaron Weiss (East Machias, Maine/St. Paul's School) earned USM's fifth straight win following DeCarlo's pin with one of his own downing Jim Coiley in 6:32 for the win at 174-pounds.
Ahead 22-11 after Weiss' pin, the Huskies' dropped the next two matches by decision to hold onto a 22-17 lead, putting the pressure on senior captain Michael Frey (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury). Frey came through for the Huskies in a big way, earning a 7-4 decision to clinch the match with a win over Lenny Smith for the 25-17 final.
Southern Maine returns to action after the semester break traveling to Western New England University for a tri-meet with Bridgewater State on Saturday, January 4 (1:00 p.m.).