TROY, N.Y. – The College of New Jersey wrestling team took two of three dual matches to open its dual season Saturday at the Journeyman Duals. The Lions opened the day defeating Castleton 30-12. Next, TCNJ fell to Johnson & Wales 25-10. The Lions ended the day by defeating 14^th-ranked Ithaca 23-9.
 
The Lions jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead against Castleton via a pin by Dan Ortega and major decision by Jake Giordano. After the Spartans responded with wins at 141 and 149, TCNJ earned three straight wins to put the match away. Matt Surich earned a 5-2 decision, John Garda won via major decision, and Dan Kilroy followed with a major decision of his own. Quinn Haddad earned a decision victory at 197 and Thomas Marretta pinned his opponent at heavyweight.
 
Ortega got the Lions out to a 3-0 lead against the Panthers. Johnson & Wales responded with three straight wins including a pin by Damani Burns at 149. Matthew Sacco earned a decision victory at 157 and Kilroy earned his second major decision of the day, but it was not enough.
 
In the final dual of the day, Nick Denora won an 8-5 decision at 125 to open the meet. Giordano continued the momentum at 133 with a 7-5 win. Anthony Rua won 9-6 at 141 to push the lead to 9-0. Robert Dinger won via major decision at 149. Sacco won 10-7 at 157, followed by an 8-4 win by Garda at 165 that put TCNJ on top 19-0. Thomas Anderson won 12-2 at 197 to round out the TCNJ scoring.
 
The Lions return to action when they travel to the Roger Williams Invite Nov. 15-16.

#12 TCNJ 30, Castleton 12    Nov. 9, 2019 • McDonough Sports Complex
Wt     Win    Type     Loss     Score     T    C
125    Dan Ortega (T)    WBF    Frank Darwak    4:53    6    0
133    Jake Giordano (T)    Maj.    Owen Kretschmer    13-3    10    0
141    Travis Brown (C)    WBF    Robert Dinger    2:51    10    6
149    Max Tempel (C)    Dec.    Anthony Rua    3-0    10    9
157    Matt Surich (T)    Dec.    Cooper Fleming    5-2    13    9
165    John Garda (T)    Maj.    Reese Millington    10-0    17    9
174    Dan Kilroy (T)    Maj.    Chance Lapier    11-1    21    9
184    Jason Hoffman (C)    Dec.    Daniel Surich    10-4    21    12
197    Quinn Haddad (T)    Dec.    Mitchell Laflam    9-6    24    12
285    Thomas Marretta (T)    WBF    Mason Osborn    2:39    30    12

Johnson & Wales 25, #12 TCNJ 10    Nov. 9, 2019 • McDonough Sports Complex
Wt     Win     Type     Loss     Score     T    J
125    Dan Ortega (T)    Dec.    Justin Lopez    6-5    3    0
133    Hayden Brown (J)    Dec.    D. Difrancescantonio    11-7    3    3
141    Gabriel McDaniel (J)    Maj.    Robert Dinger    16-8    3    7
149    Da'Mani Burns (J)    WBF    Nic Mele    2:09    3    13
157    Matthew Sacco (T)    Dec.    Darius Joyce    6-0    6    13
165    Christian Murphy (J)    Dec.    John Garda    5-3    6    16
174    Dan Kilroy (T)    Maj.    Joseph Gannone    8-0    10    16
184    Nicholas Munsch (J)    Dec.    Daniel Surich    2-1    10    19
197    Tommy Wrzesien (J)    Dec.    Quinn Haddad    6-4    10    22
285    Michael Dinardo (J)    Dec.    Dylan D'Amore    3-1    10    25

#12 TCNJ 23, #14 Ithaca 9    Nov. 9, 2019 • McDonough Sports Complex
Wt     Win     Type     Loss     Score     T    I
125    Nick Denora (T)    Dec.    Logan Ninos    8-5    3    0
133    Jake Giordano (T)    Dec.    Travis Jones    7-5    6    0
141    Anthony Rua (T)    Dec.    Tito Colom    9-6    9    0
149    Robert Dinger (T)    Maj.    Matthew Beyer    14-3    13    0
157    Matthew Sacco (T)    Dec.    Sam Schneider    10-7    16    0
165    John Garda (T)    Dec.    Adam Wagner    8-4    19    0
174    Jordan Wallace (I)    Dec.    Dan Kilroy    6-2    19    3
184    Chibueze Chukwuezi (I)    Dec.    Kal-El Corbitt    6-2    19    6
197    Thomas Anderson (T)    Maj.    Dymir Davis-Carruth    12-2    23    6
285    Dalton Elias (I)    Dec.    Benny Dahdah    5-2    23    9