BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins wrestling team closed the Centennial Conference dual meet portion of its 2018-19 schedule Saturday afternoon as the Blue Jays dropped decisions to Stevens (23-20) and the United States Merchant Marine Academy (29-15).  Johns Hopkins is now 5-8 overall and 2-3 in the Centennial.

Against Stevens
The Blue Jays fell behind 17-3 after four bouts before staging a furious rally that fell just short in a 23-20 loss to the Ducks.  Three bonus-point wins (two pins and a tech fall) helped craft the 14-point lead for Stevens before the Blue Jays started their comeback with a first-period pin from sophomore Dominick Reyes at 157 and a 9-4 win by senior Dane Morgan at 165 to slice the deficit to 17-12.

The Ducks scored tight decisions at 174 and 184 as Robert Gennat edged Nathan Wertheimer (3-2) and Michael Dooley topped Bradlee Lamontagne (2-0); Lamontagne gamely took Dooley the full seven minutes despite wrestling three weight classes up.
Down 23-12, Johns Hopkins got a 17-0 technical fall victory from senior Miles Gilliam at 197 to pull within 23-17 and Henri Behaeghel scored a 3-1 win over Joe Moreno to account for the 23-20 final score.

Against Merchant Marine
Johns Hopkins led 15-9 after the first five bouts, but couldn't hold on as Merchant Marine won the final five matches to grab the 28-15 victory.

The Mariners led 9-6 heading into the 149-pound bout after sandwiching a Jace Garza win by decision at 125 and a forfeit at 141 around a 110-second Ricky Cavallo pin for the Blue Jays at 133.

Freshman Joe Paul scored a 7-1 win over Austin Vincent at 149 to even the match at 9-9 and Reyes ended the drama of a 6-6 tie at the end of regulation with Kiergan Duggan early in overtime.  Reyes used a blast double-leg takedown that sent Duggan straight to his back and Reyes stuck him less than 15 seconds later to give the Blue Jays the 15-9 lead midway through the match.

Brothers Billy and Max Sims scored back-to-back wins by decision for the Mariners to knot the match at 15-all and two wins by major decision and a first-period pin in the final three bouts gave Merchant Marine the 29-15 victory.

Notes of Interest
Cavallo improved to 23-2 on the year and ran his winning streak to 12 with his two wins today • Cavallo's pin against Merchant Marine is his sixth of the season and the 15^th of his career • All six of his pins this season have come in the first period • Reyes capped a 3-0 weekend with his two pins today.  He is now 16-3 on the year with 11 of his 16 wins of the bonus-point variety • Morgan needs one win for 50 in his career • The win against Stevens for Gilliam was the 40^th of his career … 30 of his 40 wins have come by major decision (5), technical fall (6) or pin (19).

What's Next
Johns Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, February 9 as the Blue Jays travel to the Merchant Marine Academy for the 2019 Centennial Conference Championships.

Stevens-23, Johns Hopkins-20           
125 –  Akhil Vega (S) tech. fall Jerermy Berger (J), 19-3
133 –  #9 Ricky Cavallo (J) def. Joey Borai (S), 7-5
141 –  #1 Troy Stanich (S) pin Connor Mauriello (J) (1:40)
149 –  #6 Brett Kaliner (S) pin Jack Albin (J) (3:56)
157 –  Dominick Reyes (J) pin Joe Schneider (S) (1:45)
165 –  Dane Morgan (J) def. Stephen Friedman (S), 9-4 
174 –  Robert Gennat (S) def. Nathan Wertheimer (J), 3-2
184 –  Michael Dooley (S) def. Bradlee Lamontagne (J), 2-0
197 –  Miles Gilliam (J) tech fall Bruce Parola (S), 17-0 
285 –  Henri Behaeghel (J) def. Joe Moreno (S), 3-1 

USMMA-29, Johns Hopkins-15
125 –Jace Garza (MM) def. Jeremy Berger (J), 11-9
133 – #9 Ricky Cavallo (J) pin Alex Puglio (MM) (1:50)
141 – Daniel May (MM) win by forfeit
149 – Joe Paul (J) def. Austin Vincent (MM), 7-1
157 – Dominick Reyes (J) pin Kieran Duggan (MM) (7:35)
165 – Billy Sims (MM) def. Dane Morgan (J), 3-0
174 – Max Sims (MM) def. Nathan Wertheimer (J), 7-3
184 – Joshua Glantzman (MM) maj. dec. Bradlee Lamontagne (J), 13-0
197 – Kurtis Hahn (MM) pin Miles Gilliam (J) (1:14)
285 – Blake Bunce (MM) maj. dec. Henri Behaeghel (J), 15-6
     
EXHIBITIONS
197 – Karl Tayeb (J) pin Joe Fiore (MM) (6:28)