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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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February 24, 2008 |
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Rhode Island College Captures
New England Championship;
Bonora & Martini Head To
NCAA Tournament
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Gorham,
ME—The
Rhode Island College wrestling team captured the 2008 New England
Wrestling Association (NEWA) Championship on Sunday afternoon at the
University of Southern Maine. It is the sixth conference title in
program history and the first for the program since the Anchormen
won five straight league titles from 1988-92. |
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Head Coach
Jay Jones said, “The kids worked hard all season, battled
through a lot of adversity and it’s great to see it come to
fruition. I am so proud of all of their efforts.” Jones was named
the New England Wrestling Association Coach of the Year and Dave
Paquette was named the NEWA Assistant Coach of the Year. |
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RIC finished
the two-day tourney with 121.0 points, outdistancing Pilgrim League
rivals Johnson & Wales by five. Williams (105.5), Springfield (89.0)
and Bridgewater State (80.0) rounded out the top five institutions.
The Anchormen were ranked No. 3 in New England behind Johnson &
Wales and Roger Williams heading into the tournament. |
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Senior
Mike Bonora (Nutley, NJ) captured the New England Championship
at 141 lbs. for the second consecutive season and will move on to
the 2008 NCAA Div. III Wrestling Championships, hosted by Coe and
Cornell Colleges in Cedar Rapids, Iowa beginning on Friday, Mar. 7.
Bonora, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 141 lbs., went
undefeated at the NEWA Championships, posting a 5-0 mark to improve
his record to 40-2 on the season. His only two losses have come to
Div. I wrestlers. Bonora has attained All-New England status in each
of his four seasons as an Anchorman. |
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Senior
Mike Bonora |
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Sophomore
Mike Martini (Cranston, RI) captured the New England
Championship at 157 lbs. and will also move on to the NCAA
Championships. Martini, who was ranked No. 1 in New England, went
undefeated at the NEWA Championships, posting a 4-0 mark to improve
his record to 34-7 on the season. He attained All-New England status
as a freshman in 2007, placing third overall. |
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Sophomore
Mike Martini |
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Senior
Brendan Casey (Lowell, MA) earned All-New England honors at 174
lbs., placing third overall. Casey went 4-2 at the NEWA
Championships to finish his season with a 22-9 record. |
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Senior
Brendan Casey |
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Senior
Kevin Davis (Amston, CT) earned All-New England honors at 197
lbs., placing third overall. Davis went 3-2 at the NEWA
Championships to finish his season with a 24-11 record. His second
loss at the tourney came at the hands of the eventual champion
(Diego Crespo, Johnson & Wales). |
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Senior
Kevin Davis |
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Freshman
Brian Hoyt (Sussex, NJ) earned All-New England honors at 125
lbs., placing third overall. Hoyt went 3-2 at the NEWA Championships
to finish his season with a 12-9 record. |
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Freshman
Travis Drappi (West Orange, NJ) earned All-New England honors at
133 lbs., placing fourth overall. Drappi went 3-2 at the NEWA
Championships to finish his season with a 25-12 record. |
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Freshman
Travis Drappi |
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Junior
Nick Logan (Lowell, MA) earned All-New England honors at 184
lbs., placing fourth overall. Logan went 2-2 at the NEWA
Championships to finish his season with a 31-9 record. |
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Junior
Nick Logan |
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Freshman
Kevin Sutherland (Dauphin, PA) earned All-New England honors at
149 lbs., placing fifth overall. Sutherland went 3-2 at the NEWA
Championships to finish his season with a 30-12 record. |
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Freshman
Kevin Sutherland |
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The Anchormen
finished the regular season with a 16-4 overall record, an 11-3 mark
against NEWA opposition and a 4-2 record in the Pilgrim Wrestling
League. |
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-end- |