EWING, N.J. – Jordan Ayyash turned a sizeable deficit into a pin within the span of a single period to highlight a dominant effort by the No. 4 TCNJ wrestling team as the blue and gold ran off the final six matches to soar past No. 23 Stevens, 32-8, in a matchup of nationally ranked in-state rivals on Friday night.
 
The teams traded a decision and tech fall apiece to leave the teams knotted at 8-8 through four bouts, but the Lions (15-6) went wild from there to claim their seventh consecutive dual. It all turned on Ayyash's stunning rally.
 
Colin Menier gave TCNJ the lead for good with a 10-4 victory over Michael O'Connor at 157, but the Ducks (8-9) looked set to at least pull even – if not more – with Tyler Roe controlling a 9-2 lead on Ayyash in the early stages of the second period at 165.
 
Everything changed from there, with Ayyash scoring his first takedown just shy of the 1-minute mark. Less than a minute later, the match was over. The Lions' talented rookie trailed 10-6 after Roe's escape but stayed on the offensive, taking Roe to the mat again with 20 seconds left in the frame. He then turned Roe and ended the match mere seconds later with a breathtaking pin-fall, giving TCNJ a 17-8 lead with No. 1 ranked Hunter Mays on deck.
 
Stevens never threatened after that. Mays netted four takedowns en route to a 14-3 major decision over Ian Flanagan at 174.
 
Ethan Dalling came up big at 184, using a late-clock reversal just before the second-period buzzer to turn a slim 6-5 lead into an eventual 9-5 decision.
 
No. 5 D.J. Henry continued his torrent of tech falls at 197, producing a four-point near-fall among his four takedowns, the last of which ended his bout with Terrence Thomas just seconds into the third period with Henry a 17-1 victor.
 
Matt Coon made it six bouts in a row at heavyweight, using an early takedown and over two minutes of riding time in the first period alone to coast to a 6-2 decision against Noah Berlin-Langston.
 
TCNJ jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead behind No. 5 Matthew Griffin's 8-3 defeat of Charles Piccione and No. 2 Garrett Totten's 19-1 tech fall against Vincent Principe, which ended at the second-period horn with four near-fall points.
 
The Ducks quacked back to life with back-to-back victories, including a tech fall from No. 2 Nico Diaz at 141, but it was all Lions from there.
 
NOTES

• Henry has defeated five of his last six opponents by technical fall, raising his team-leading total to a dozen on the year
• Totten moved into a tie for second on the team with his eighth tech fall of the season
• Griffin and Menier each picked up their 20^th win of the season
• Mays remained undefeated at 18-0 on the year, including 13-0 in duals
• Ayyash's pin was his second 
• TCNJ has reached 15 dual wins for the first time since the 2019-20 campaign
• The Lions have won two duals in a row over the Ducks to take a slim 9-8 lead in the series since 2007

UP NEXT

• The Lions head to Messiah for a 1 p.m. dual on Saturday

No. 4 TCNJ 32, No. 23 Stevens 8
125 - #5 Matthew Griffin (TCNJ) dec. Charles Piccione, 8-3
133 - #2 Garrett Totten (TCNJ) tech fall Vincent Principe, 19-1 (5:00)
141 - #2 Nico Diaz (SIOT) tech fall Luke Reitter, 19-4 (4:52)
149 - #4 Cole Handlovic (SIOT) dec. #14 J.J. Giordano, 7-2
157 - Colin Menier (TCNJ) dec. Michael O'Connor, 10-4
165 - Jordan Ayyash (TCNJ) pinned Tyler Roe, 4:47
174 - #1 Hunter Mays (TCNJ) maj. dec. Ian Flanagan, 14-3
184 - Ethan Dalling (TCNJ) dec. Christopher Piazza, 9-5
197 - #5 D.J. Henry (TCNJ) tech fall Terrence Thomas, 17-1 (5:03)
285 - Matt Coon (TCNJ) dec. Noah Berlin-Langston, 6-2
 
Extra Countable Matches
149 - Sam Kotch (TCNJ) maj. dec. Justin Ciliotta, 21-8
157 - Andrew O'Reilly (SIOT) dec. Joey Fulco, 8-7
174 - Konnor Tubin (TCNJ) dec. Sawyer Pugh, 9-4