GETTYSBURG, PA. – The Ursinus College men's wrestling stayed unbeaten in conference duals with a sweep over Centennial Conference foes Merchant Marine Academy and Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon.


 
With the victories, the Bears improved to 9-3 on the season in dual meets and a perfect 4-0 in Centennial Conference action.
 


Sophomore Franco Mazza (125lbs) and seniors Shawn Marchesano (165lbs) and Gary Nagle (184lbs) each finished with a perfect 2-0 record on the day.
 
Ursinus 29, Merchant Marine 12
 
In their opening dual meet against the Mariners, the Bears jumped out to an early 12-0 lead before Merchant Marine cut their deficit in half with five matches to go. Ursinus earned bonus points in three straight matches to lock up the dual before the Mariners won the final two matches via decisions.
 


At 125lbs, Mazza earned a forfeit to give Ursinus a 6-0 advantage, while junior Jagger Clapsadle earned a hard fought 10-8 decision in sudden victory over Merchant Marine's Corey Haney. The Bears earned their third straight victory with senior Romeo Rodriguez collecting a 9-6 decision at 141lbs, but the Mariners stormed back with back-to-back victories to make the match score 12-6 Ursinus.
 


With five matches to go, Marchesano regained the momentum for Ursinus recording a 16-1 tech fall at 165-pounds to give the Bears a 17-6 advantage. Leading 4-1 at the beginning of the second period, Marchesano collected a takedown and followed up with a near sided cradle for four nearfall points. He earned the tech fall later in the third period after a takedown secured the 15-point advantage.
 


At 174lbs, first-year Anthony Cerulli tallied a first period pinfall in just 41 seconds behind a cement mixer to increase the Bears lead to 23-6. Senior Gary Nagle followed suit at 184lbs collecting a first period pin fall at the 1:47-mark. Nagle captured the first takedown with a sweep single and after throwing in legs he readjusted for a power half and the final. The Bears dropped the final two bouts via close decisions, as senior Kyle Schaffer fell to Merchant Marine's James Cruz 7-4 and senior Jake Ahmad fell via a 2-0 decision.
 
 
 
Ursinus 28, Gettysburg 13
In their second dual of the afternoon the Bears fell behind 10-8 after four matches. They would bounce back with a decision from Stone Franczyk (157lbs), a major decision from Marchesano at 165lbs and won three of the final four matches in route to the 28-13 victory.
 


Mazza (125lbs) got the Bears on the board in a rematch from a consolation match at the Will Abele Invitational with a 10-1 major decision over Gettysburg's Antonio Abate. Gettysburg responded with a pinfall at 133lbs to regain a 6-4 match lead heading into the 141lb bout.
 


Sophomore Wesley Tosto answered for the Bears with a 12-1 major decision of his own over Gettysburg's Jake Stein to give Ursinus an 8-6 lead. After a major decision for the Bullets at 149lbs, Franczyk and Marchesano bounced back with a decision and major decision to increase the Bears lead to five with four matches to go.
 


The Bullets cut their deficit to two after the 174lb bout as Gettysburg's Justin Richey collected an 5-3 decision over junior Jackson Bradnt. Ursinus responded once again with three straight victories as Nagle picked up a 10-2 major decision at 184lbs, Schaffer earned a hard-fought 3-1 sudden victory at 197lbs, and Jake Ahmad tallied a second period fall at 285lbs for the dual meet victory.
 


At 197lbs with the match heading into overtime with the score tied 1-1, Schaffer delivered a blast double, and an inside trip sealed the match. For Ahmad at the 285lb bout, he delivered a headlock throwing Gettysburg's Phil Nave to his back for the second period pin.
 


Ursinus also earned three exhibition victories by pinfall as Andrew Minko (133lbs), Scott Weinkowitz (141lbs), and Derek Giordano (149lbs) each tallied victories.


"We competed very well today," Director of Wrestling Joe Jamison said. "The coaching staff was impressed with how the team was able to bounce back from a tough loss on Wednesday night. We wrestled two really tough programs today, and the guys stepped up and got the job done."
 
 
The Bears will return to action on Wednesday as they host Muhlenberg College for a 7pm start from Helfferich Hall.