Connect with us

College

Bloomsburg hands a young Sacred Heart a fourth straight loss

Bloomsburg University handed Sacred Heart their fourth straight loss Sunday. (Photo courtesy Sacred Heart wrestling)

Sacred Heart’s young lineup wasn’t enough in Sunday’s 36-6 loss to Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pa. The Pioneers (1-6) had six freshmen in the 10-man lineup against the Bearcats, including two wrestlers making varsity debut in dual meets for Sacred Heart.

Bloomsburg (7-5) won the first three matches of the bout before sophomore Raf Lievano (5-2) outlasted Cade Balestrini, 7-6 at 149 pounds for the victory and three points for the Pioneers.

Bloomsburg’s Alex Carida rallied to beat Sacred Heart’s Nick Palumbo (6-3) in overtime, 3-1 at 157 pounds. That snapped Palumbo’s four-match winning streak.

Freshman Brandon Teresa (165) made his varsity dual meet debut with the Pioneers and dropped an 8-3 decision. Freshman Joe Sacco wrestled his first match ever for Sacred Heart and dropped a close 2-0 decision to Matt Benedetti at 174 pounds.

Newtown senior Joe Accousti (197) picked up another three points for Sacred Heart with an 9-2 victory over David Tuttle to improve to 5-8 on the year.

Sacred Heart, who has lost four straight dual meets, returns to action on Saturday when they visit Hofstra in an Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association match.

Bloomsburg 36, Sacred Heart 6
At Bloomsburg, Pa.
125: Bronson Garber (B) dec. Jacob Venezia, 12-6
133: Cole Rhone (B) pin Kyle Randall, 6:21
141: Josh Manson dec. Chris Naegele, 2:01
149: Raf Lievano (SH) dec. Cade Balestrini, 7-6
157: Alex Carida (B) dec. Nick Palumbo, 3-1 OT
165: Trenton Harder (B) dec. Brandon Teresa, 8-3
174: Matt Benedetti (B) dec. Joe Sacco, 2-0
184: Bruno Stolfi (B) pin Alex Marciniak, 2:16
197: Joe Accousti (SH) dec. David Tuttle, 9-2
285: Shane Noonan (B) pin Nicholas Copley, 3:22
Records: Sacred Heart 1-6; Bloomsburg 7-5

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of Connecticut Wrestling Online. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

More in College