George Mason Athletics

Patriots Host Hofstra on Alumni Day

Wrestling 2/7/2020 1:42:00 PM

Mason Patriots vs. Hofstra Pride
WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 9 | Noon
RECORDS: Mason (7-6, 2-4 MAC), Hofstra (7-5, 4-0)
WHERE: Recreation Athletic Complex, Fairfax, Va.
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+

Fairfax, Va.— The George Mason wrestling team welcomes the Hofstra Pride to Fairfax on Sunday, Feb. 9 at Noon in the Recreation Athletic Complex. The match is also the Patriots' Alumni Day.

Mason (7-6, 2-4) looks to snap a three-match slide. The Pride (7-5, 4-0 EIWA) are winners of four straight duals, their longest since a four-match streak in 2017-18. The Patriots defeated the Pride, 28-9, in the final match last season at Hofstra, February 22.

The match will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+.

MAT FACTS

Redshirt-senior Colston DiBlasi (24-8) achieved what only six other wrestlers in Mason history accomplished with his 100th career win against Lock Haven's Brock Port (Jan. 18). The Patriots have seven 100-win wrestlers in program history, led by Paul Maltagiati with 122. The other five are Scott Kirsch (119); Johnny Curtis and Chuck Toler (113); Rob Becker (109), and Adrian Austin (103), Colston DiBlasi (102).
DiBlasi has won five straight matches and 15 of his last 16 matches.
Kolby Ho (20-9, 10-2), has 20+ wins for the second straight season. He finished his freshman campaign with a 22-11 record, including a 10-4 dual mark.
Freshman Josh Jones earned an 8-3 decision against NCAA qualifier Anthony Cefolo (133) at Rider (Jan. 25). The rookie has won 10 of his last 13 matches improving to 13-9 overall, 9-3 in dual action.

Hofstra

Hofstra University and George Mason University competed in the Colonial Athletic Association from 2001 to 2013. Hofstra accepted membership into the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association beginning with the 2013-14 season. Hofstra won a league-high 11 CAA wrestling championships during its 12 years as a member of the conference. George Mason won five conference titles.
Hofstra is 4-0 in the EIWA for the first time since joining the league in 2013-14.
Knighton-Ward has won five consecutive matches.
Hofstra's four wins by fall versus Franklin & Marshall was a season high.
Three brothers are starters for Hofstra. The Heller brothers are from Riverwoods, Illinois; freshman Reese (149), sophomore Holden (157) and redshirt junior Sage (174).

National Rankings/Awards

The Patriots Alex Madrigal (141) moved up a spot to #28 in the TrackWrestling individual national rankings this week. DiBlasi (149) remained at #25. Hofstra's Dylan Ryder is ranked #30 by WrestleStat.
The NCAA updated (Jan. 22) standings for the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March. Colston DiBlasi stands in fourth place with nine falls at 149 pounds. Cornell's Ben Darmstadt leads with 11 this season.
Redshirt-senior Alex Madrigal holds a commanding lead in the NCAA Wrestling Awards race for the most tech falls in Division I with 10, three more than second-place Pat Glory of Princeton.