Ewing, NJ… The College of New Jersey wrestling team opened the dual meet portion of its schedule on a winning note as the Lions posted a 30-6 victory over visiting New York University on Friday at Packer Hall.
The Lions (1-0) are ranked eighth in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III poll, while the Violets (0-1) entered the match in the 30th spot.

TCNJ fell behind early as NYU's Kyle Christensen (Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Regional) won by decision at 125, but the Lions turned things around at 133 as senior Ray Sarinelli (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills) won by 14-5 major decision improving his record to 6-0 on the season. That win also put the hosts in front for good at 4-3. He entered the match ranked eighth nationally in his weight class.

Freshman John Barnett (Oak Ridge, NJ/Jefferson Township) followed with another major decision at 141 as he earned a 12-4 win over Mark Arpaia (Cutchogue, NY/Mattituck) bring the team score in favor of the hosts at 8-3.

At 149 pounds, a pair of nationally-ranked grapplers went head-to-head with TCNJ's Tyler Branham (Newton, NJ/Kittantinny) ranked sixth and NYU's Steve Hult (Hillsdale, NJ/Pascack Valley) eighth. Branham recorded a pair of back points in the third period to pull out a narrow 3-2 decision.

The Lions continued to roll along as Dan DiColo (Budd Lake, NJ/Mt. Olive) won by decision at 157 and Al Wonesh (Columbus, NJ/Northern Burlington) by major decision at 165. Those victories built TCNJ's lead to 18-3.

Freshman Justin Bonitatis (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) needed only 1:22 to win by fall at 174 pounds as he picked up his team-leading eighth win on the young season.

The Violets recorded their first win since the opening weight class at 184 pounds as second-ranked Nick Coleman (Hershey, PA/Hershey) pulled out a 3-1 overtime victory.

The Lions closed out the match with two more wins as Shawn Vanwingerden (Wantage, NJ/High Point) scored a last-second decision at 197, while heavyweight Steve Carbone (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) capped the victory with an 8-3 decision.

The Lions will be right back on the mat for another dual meet on Wednesday, November 14 hosting Hunter College in a 7 p.m. start at Packer Hall.

Weight by weight summary
#8 TCNJ 30, #30 New York University 6 
125: Kyle Christensen (NYU) dec. Kyle Kinchen (TCNJ) 6-3 
133: Ray Sarinelli (TCNJ) major dec. Tom Masciale (NYU) 14-5 
141: John Barnett (TCNJ) dec. Mark Arpaia (NYU) 12-4
149: Tyler Branham (TCNJ) dec. Steve Hult (NYU) 3-2
157: Dan DiColo (TCNJ) dec. Matt Magill (NYU) 7-2
165: Al Wonesh (TCNJ) major dec. Pat Knight (NYU) 11-1
174: Justin Bonitatis (TCNJ) pinned Naum Shuminov (NYU) 1:22
184: Nick Coleman (NYU) dec. Jim Tomczuk (TCNJ) 3-1 sd
197: Shawn Vanwingerden (TCNJ) dec. Alex Chianurashvili (NYU) 4-3
285: Steve Carbone (TCNJ) dec. James Layman (NYU) 8-3