Down six points heading into the final match of the Colonial Athletic Association dual meet, the Boston University wrestling team needed a pin (worth six points) from heavyweight senior Jim Connors to salvage a tie against George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
‘We knew it was going to be a war,’ BU coach Carl Adams said. ‘And it really did come to the wire.’
The 185-pound Connors (10-11) wrestled in predatory fashion ‘-‘- fixed on scoring a pin for the Terriers. After several near misses, he pinned George Mason heavyweight Mike Peterson in the waning seconds of the second round.
‘Connors came through in a huge way for us,’ Adams said. ‘But obviously, we would have liked to win.’
Junior Abbie Rush, a 141-pounder wrestling in his first meet back from an injury, scored a 14-4 victory over George Mason’s John Delgado. Rush received an extra point for winning by 10 points. The win pushed his record to 9-6.
‘Abbie has been out since Dec. 7 with partially torn ligaments in his knee,’ Adams said. ‘It’s a tough injury to get through, so it was good to see him have success.’
But Connor’s come-from-behind win and Rush’s return proved to be bright spots buried in an otherwise bleak weekend.
In the Terriers’ only other team match, they were beaten soundly, 38-3, to No. 18 Hofstra University.
‘Yeah, they beat us pretty good. We knew we were in for a fight,’ Adams said.
Hofstra, who finished seventh in the nation two years ago, carried nine of the 10 matches. Steven Bonnano’s (125 pounds) 18-0 win over freshman Ryan Dowd, and 141-pound Justin Accordino’s 18-2 win over junior Ryan Goddu were Hofstra’s proudest triumphs.
‘It didn’t go too well,’ Adams said.
Up next for the Terriers is a dual meet against Drexel University in Philadelphia on Jan. 24.
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