HOBOKEN, N.J. (January 28, 2018)  – Senior Zach Wilhelm, junior Thomas Poklikuha, sophomore Troy Stanich and freshman Brett Kaliner each won a pair of matches Sunday as No. 17 Stevens Institute of Technology Wrestling collected five pins on the afternoon to defeat Muhlenberg College (28-13) and Ursinus College (35-12) in a pair of Centennial Conference duals at Canavan Arena.

The victories extended Stevens' dual-match winning streak to five. The Ducks improved to 10-3 in dual meets this season and are a perfect 5-0 in Centennial Conference action.

"It was two great duals," head coach Joe Favia commented. "The guys have been coming together and growing every week. They have been getting better each performance. It's not easy competing on short rest, but they responded well. We will have to do it again this coming Wednesday against NYU and that's our focus now.

Prior to the Muhlenberg dual, the seven student-athletes (Andrew Dickerson, Ryan Jachim, Josh Smith, Shane Triantos, Zach Wilhelm, Aaron Wolfang and Phil Woods) that compromise Wrestling's Class of 2018 were honored and recognized for their individual achievements and their collective contributions to the Stevens Wrestling program.

"It was a great opportunity to honor our seven seniors, who have done so much for our program," Favia reflected. "Over the past four years, their leadership, on and off the mat, has played an instrumental role in the rebranding of our program and its culture. I am very grateful to have shared the wrestling room with them."

In the opener, Stevens won five of the first six bouts to open a 25-3 lead en route to a 28-13 victory over Muhlenberg.

Junior Joey Borai began the day with a forfeit victory at 125 pounds, before Stanich earned his 23rd win of the season with a major decision victory at 133 pounds over Austin Sherman. The major was the Roxbury, New Jersey native's sixth of the season.

Kaliner followed with the first fall of the day, earning a second-period pin of Josh Hickey. The nation's fourth-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds improved to 21-2 with the win and picked up his fifth pin of the season.

Muhlenberg got on the board with a 9-5 decision at 149 pounds, however, Wilhelm quickly put an end to any comeback hopes with a pin of Ben Peck in 1:44 to push the Stevens lead to 22-3. Poklikuha followed with an exciting 8-7 decision over Dylan Schwartz at 165 pounds. Schwartz came into the match with a 28-8 record.

The visiting Mules rallied with victories at 174, 184 and 197 pounds, however, only one (174) was with bonus points, allowing Stevens to clinch the match. Freshman Joseph Moreno took a 5-1 decision victory at 285 pounds to round out the scoring. 

Against Ursinus, the nationally-ranked Ducks reeled off six straight victories to break the match open as Stevens topped the Bears, 35-12.

The dual began with Ursinus' Christopher Tan holding off Borai in the final period to earn a 5-2 decision victory in a highly-anticipated matchup at 125 pounds. Both wrestlers were ranked as contenders by D3Wrestle.com in its most-recent published rankings.

Stanich followed with his second major of the day, picking up a 12-0 victory over Ray Calderaio, to extend his 2017-18 unbeaten streak. Building upon his impressive freshman campaign, Stanich, the top wrestler in the country at 133 pounds,  has recorded bonus points in 22 of his 24 victories this season.

With a 4-3 lead after two bouts, the Ducks recorded back-to-back falls to record 12 points. Kaliner notched his second pin of the day in 4:20 and sophomore Dylan Van Sickell earned a third-period fall over Donte McCarthy. Van Sickell and Stanich are tied for second on the team with 24 wins.

With the Canavan Arena crowd buzzing, Wilhelm and Poklikuha kept the momentum rolling with consecutive technical falls. Wilhelm, ranked fourth at 157 pounds, posted a 16-0 shutout to add to his career wins total, and Poklikuha pulled away in the second period to hold a 23-7 edge at the time of the stoppage.

Josh Smith extended the streak with an 11-5 decision at 174 pounds to clinch the dual, however, Ursinus' Ben Mack earned a first-period fall at 184 pounds to temporarily halt the home team's momentum.

Freshman Colin Myles responded with his second pin of the year at 197 pounds, emphatically slapping the mat after the victory, much to the delight of the home team's fans. Ursinus' William McGinley earned a 5-3 victory at 285 pounds to conclude competition. 

Box Score
Stevens-Muhlenberg
125# - Joey Borai (SIT) via forfeit; Stevens leading 6-0
133# - No. 1 Troy Stanich (SIT) over Austin Sherman (Muhlenberg) (MD 8-0); Stevens leading 10-0
141# - No. 4 Brett Kaliner (SIT) over Josh Hickey (Muhlenberg) (Fall 3:37); Stevens leading 16-0
149# - Michael Dougan (Muhlenberg) over Aaron Wolfang (SIT) (Dec. 9-5); Stevens leading 16-3
157# - No. 4 Zach Wilhelm (SIT) over Ben Peck (Muhlenberg) (Fall 1:44); Stevens leading 22-3
165# - Thomas Poklikuha (SIT) over Dylan Schwartz (Muhlenberg) (Dec. 8-7); Stevens leading 25-3
174# - Jimmy Fratantoni (Muhlenberg) over Carl Vasti (SIT) (MD 9-0); Stevens leading 25-7
184# - Mike Cannon (Muhlenberg) over Ryan Jachim (SIT) (Dec. 7-4); Stevens leading 25-10
197# - Gennaro Cerminara (Muhlenberg) over Colin Myles (SIT) (Dec. 9-4); Stevens leading 25-13
285# - Joseph Moreno (SIT) over Scott Schaeffer (Muhlenberg) (Dec. 5-1); Stevens leading 28-13
 
Exhibition Matches
125# - Matt Wilde (Ursinus) over Michael Heck (SIT) (MD 21-10)
135# - Matt Wilde (Ursinus) over Connor McGee (Muhlenberg) (MD 17-7)
125# - Michael Heck (SIT) over Alex Helpin (Muhlenberg) (Fall 1:12)
149# - Edward Howlette (Ursinus) over Austin Kruger (SIT) (Dec. 11-9)
174# - Patrick Rafferty (Ursinus) over Zachary Kovacs (SIT) (Dec. 5-3)
184# - Matthieu Dupuy (SIT) over Tommy DiSisto (Muhlenberg) (MD 12-4)
184# - Charlie Wildermuth (Ursinus) over Matthieu Dupuy (SIT) (Fall 2:21)
285# - Sam Rothstein (Muhlenberg) over Ryan Kidwell (Ursinus) (Dec. 6-4)

Stevens-Ursinus
125# - Christopher Tan (Ursinus) over Joey Borai (SIT) (Dec. 5-2); Ursinus leading 3-0
133# - No. 1 Troy Stanich (SIT) over Ray Calderaio (Ursinus) (MD 12-0); Stevens leading 4-3
141# - No. 4  Brett Kaliner (SIT) over Daniel May (Ursinus) (Fall 4:20); Stevens leading 10-3
149# - Dylan Van Sickell (SIT) over Donte McCarthy (Ursinus) (Fall 5:56); Stevens leading 16-3
157# - No. 4 Zach Wilhelm (SIT) over Jake Folk (Ursinus) (TF 16-0 5:04); Stevens leading 21-3
165# - Thomas Poklikuha (SIT) over Zach Goranson (Ursinus) (TF 23-7 3:$0); Stevens leading 26-3
174# - Josh Smith (SIT) over Anthony Cutrufello (Ursinus) (Dec. 11-5); Stevens leading 29-3
184# - Ben Mack (Ursinus) over Bruce Parola (SIT) (Fall 2:46); Stevens leading 29-9
197# - Colin Myles (SIT) over Deon Edmond (Ursinus) (Fall 2:15); Stevens leading 35-9
285# - William McGinley (Ursinus) over Joseph Moreno (SIT) (Dec. 5-3); Stevens leading 35-12

Up Next: No. 17 Stevens welcomes New York University to Canavan Arena for a non-conference dual. It will be Stevens' final non-conference event of the season. 

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