MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Led by sophomore captain Daniel Del Gallo's (Gardiner, Maine) posted a perfect 3-0 mark at the Wesleyan (Conn.) Quad Meet, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' set a program record for dual meet wins in a season. The Huskies' defeated SUNY Oneonta 38-14 in its opening match, before downing host Wesleyan in a 24-23 battle for their record 16th victory of the season. USM closed out the day with a 43-4 loss to nationally-ranked Williams College.
With its 2-1 record on the day, Southern Maine stands at 16-10 this season in dual meets. Today's matches marked the final dual meet competitions of the season for the Huskies, who will host the North Atlantic Wrestling Championship on February 14 (10:00 a.m.), before prepping for the NCAA Northeast Regional Championship on February 28 (10:00 a.m.).
In its opening match against SUNY Oneonta, Southern Maine and the Red Dragons were knotted at 14-14 before the Huskies won the final four bouts of the contest to secure the victory. USM Brandon Curtis pinned Oneonta's Adam Greene in 3:53 to secure six points in the 141-pound match, before Del Gallo earned his first of three victories on the day putting Nicholas Heck to the mat in 3:54. With back-to-back wins by fall, USM led Oneonta 26-14 heading into the 157-pound match, and sophomore Carl Luth earned the Huskies third consecutive pin, defeating Dakota Inman in 1:17. Zachary Stevens closed out the Huskies' rally pinning Mitchell Fisher in just 58 seconds at 165-pounds.
Against Wesleyan, Southern Maine grapplers Del Gallo and senior Sean Fagan (Arlington, Mass.) each earned key victories in match-ups against regionally-ranked opponents. Wrestling at 197-pounds, Fagan, ranked fifth in New England, earned a hard-won 5-4 decision over Isaiah Bellamy. Bellamy entered the contest ranked second in New England. Fagan's victory gave USM a 6-5 lead over the Cardinals. With three bouts remaining in the match, Southern Maine trailed Wesleyan, the no. 7 ranked team in the Northeast, 17-15. Ranked second in the region, Del Gallo put the Huskies ahead with a major decision 17-4 win over fourth-ranked Ed Pierce. Luth followed Del Gallo securing a key five-point win by technical fall over Wesleyan's Carter Armendarez to give the Huskies a necessary 24-17 lead.
Against Williams, Del Gallo notched the Huskies' lone points of the match with a 17-3 major decision win over Gabriel Corrochano. Huskies' senior Jonathan Deupree (Ozona, Fla./Countryside), ranked sixth nationally at 184 pounds, dropped a narrow 2-0 decision to Williams' Chris Chorzepa. Chorzepa is ranked second in the nation at 184-pounds.
Southern Maine (15-9) 38, SUNY Oneonta (7-9) 14
174 – Shaun Gillen (ON) def. Aaron Weiss (SM), 11-2 (0-4)
184 – Jonathan Deupree (SM) def. Anthony Marino (ON) by tech fall, 16-0, 4:52 (5-4)
197 – Sean Fagan (SM) def. Chad Obzub (ON), 9-4 (8-4)
285 – James Bethel (ON) def. Thomas Arseneault (SM), 13-2 (8-8)
125 – Lucas Dion (SM) def. Dominic DeGraba (OS) by fall, 6:23 (14-8)
133 – Sean Hanson (ON) won by forfeit (14-14)
141 – Brandon Curtis (SM) def. Adam Greene (ON) by fall, 3:53 (20-14)
149 – Daniel Del Gallo (SM) def. Nicholas Heck (OS) by fall, 3:54 (26-14)
157 – Carl Luth (SM) def. Dakota Inman (ON) by fall, 1:17 (32-14)
165 – Zachary Stevens (SM) def. Mitchell Fisher (ON) by fall, 0:58 (38-14)
Southern Maine (16-9) 24, Wesleyan (6-9) 23
174 – Ryan Sblendorio (W) def. Aaron Weiss (SM) by tech fall, 4:03 (0-5)
184 – Jonathan Deupree (SM) def. Simon Levin (W), 5-1 (3-5)
197 – Sean Fagan (SM) def. Isaiah Bellamy (W), 5-4 (6-5)
285 – Mike Frey (SM) def. John San Filippo (W), 5-3 (9-5)
125 – Lucas Dion (SM) won by forfeit (15-5)
133 – Frank Crippen (W) won by forfeit (15-11)
141 – Matt Pelton (W) def. Brandon Curtis (SM) by fall, 6:44 (15-17)
149 – Daniel Del Gallo (SM) def. Ed Pierce (W), 17-4 (19-17)
157 – Carl Luth (SM) def. Carter Armendarez (W) by tech fall, 4:29 (24-17)
165 – Keonmin Hwang (W) def. Zachary Stevens (SM) by fall, 2:29 (24-23)
Williams (16-2) 43, Southern Maine (16-10) 4
174 – Martin Strenk (W) def. Aaron Pierce (SM), 15-4 (4-0)
184 – Chris Chorzepa (W) def. Jonathan Deupree (SM), 2-0 (7-0)
197 – Anthony Brooks (W) def. Sean Fagan (SM) by fall, 4:33 (13-0)
285 – Ben Wertz (W) def. Mike Frey (SM), 4-3 (16-0)
125 – Matt Morris (W) def. Lucas Dion (SM) by fall, 0:31 (22-0)
133 – Dan Evangelakos (W) won by forfeit (28-0)
141 – Jake Savoca (W) def. Brandon Curtis (SM) by tech fall, 4:21 (33-0)
149 – Daniel DelGallo (SM) def. Gabriel Corrochano (W), 17-3 (33-4)
157 – Jorge Lopez (W) def. Carl Luth (SM), 11-2 (36-4)
165 – Kyle Gaffney (W) def. Zachary Stevens (SM) by fall, 1:04 (43-4)