ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Juniors Ian Evans (Laurys Station, Pa./Parkland) and Eric Calimano (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) each claimed the second titles of their careers to lead The University of Scranton wrestling team to a tie for second place at the RIT Invitational on Saturday at Clark Gymnasium at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Evans defended his 2014 title at 157 pounds while Calimano won the 285-pound title for the second time, having won it in 2013 and missing the event last season with an injury.
Scranton finished with 95.5 points to tie Wesleyan for second. John Carroll won the team title with 135.5 points. The tie for second marks the Royals' best finish in the RIT Invitational
Evans was dominant while defending his title, posting a first-period pin and four decisions in which he gave up a combined four points while leading the Royals to a third-place finish.
He opened the event with a first-round pin in 54 seconds, then posted a 9-1 major decision to cruise into the quarterfinals. He then had decisions of 5-1 and 5-0 to reach the final, where he shut down Wesleyan's Chris Siracusa for a 7-2 victory.
Calimano's day was a little more dramatic as he rallied from a 3-0 deficit in his final, scoring two takedowns and a two-point near fall in the second period to take a 6-4 lead that opened the door to a 10-5 decision.
He reached the final by opening with a bye before posting a 16-0 technical fall in the second round. Calimano then posted a pin in 2:10 in the quarterfinals and a 3-1 decision to reach the final.
The Royals also received a second-place finish from sophomore Zachary D'Apolito (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley Senior) at 165 pounds and a third from freshman Daniel D'Agostini (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) at 184 pounds.
D'Apolito began with a bye and then scored a pin in 5:11 in the second round. He then had a 9-3 decision in the quarterfinal before rolling to a 14-4 major decision in his semifinal match. But he fell to John Carroll's Tyler Hardtke in the final, 9-5.
For D'Agostini, it was a well-earned, but slightly bittersweet third-place finish. After an opening-round bye, he posted an 8-3 decision to reach the quarterfinals, where he pulled out a sudden death 6-4 victory. But in the semifinal, he lost a 3-2 decision in a tiebreaker to fall into the consolation bracket.
Once there, D'Agostini regrouped and posted an 8-0 major decision and an 8-4 decision to finish third.
The Royals also received a fourth-place finish at 125 pounds from sophomore Nicholas DePierro (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold). He started the day strong with a 19-0 technical fall in the second round after an opening-round bye, but then lost in the third round, 3-1.
DePierro rallied in the consolation bracket, though, earning a pair of decisions (10-3 and 8-6) followed by an injury default to reach the consolation final, where he gave up a medical forfeit to take fourth.
Freshman Liam Gallagher (Aberdeen, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) had a trio of wins in the consolation bracket at 141 pounds – an 18-3 technical fall and decisions of 11-6 and 12-5.
Fellow freshman Andrew Gombas (Warren, N.J./Bound Brook) also gave Scranton a trio of consolation victories at 174. The first was a 13-2 major decision and he followed that with decisions of 7-2 and 9-4 before bowing out.
Freshman Kevin Merle (Stroudsburg, Pa./Belvidere) picked up a pair of wins at 174, as well. He opened with a bye and then posted a 19-2 technical fall before losing a 16-7 major decision in the quarterfinals. He rebounded to pick up a pin in 3:23 in the consolation bracket, but then fell in the consolation quarterfinals.
Freshman Christopher Spurlock (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) had two wins at 285 pounds, earning an 8-5 decision in the second round after an opening-round bye. He fell in the quarterfinals, but earned a 5-1 decision to reach the consolation quarterfinals before bowing out.
The Royals will now break for the holidays and return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 6, when they go on the road to face Elizabethtown at 7 p.m.
--ROYALS--
