The NYU men’s wrestling team bounced back from Wednesday’s loss against the United States Merchant Marine Academy with convincing wins over McDaniel College and Washington and Lee University this past Saturday in an event hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. The Grapplers got back on track, improving their record to 11-5 in dual meets this season. These two Centennial Conference matchups boosted the number 22 ranked Grapplers into third place in the conference — only behind Stevens and Ursinus College.

The first match of the day pitted NYU against 11-7 McDaniel College. The Grapplers took care of business beating the Green Terror 29-9. Junior Nathan Pike, wrestling at 133 pounds, continued his fantastic season by beating McDaniel senior Ryan O’Boyle with a fall at 1:48, improving his record to 23-2. Pike’s stellar performance might be an indicator for more to come with the UAA championship on the horizon. Along with Pike, sophomore Raymond Jazikoff and junior Nick Matthews had strong days against McDaniel. Jazikoff won 20-4 on a technical fall against Wade Bishop in the 157-pound matchup. Matthews, who came in fourth at the Citrus Open in Florida two months ago, won by decision. The Grapplers led throughout the match and did not slip up.

After handily beating McDaniel College, NYU had momentum going into their next match against Washington and Lee. They throttled the Generals in a lopsided 45-3 win, continuing their success in the Centennial Conference. From the lowest weight class to the highest weight class, the Grapplers had no problems. In the 125-pound weight class, junior Wayne Yuan had a strong outing winning by Decision 8-2 over Washington and Lee’s Ethan Hartman. The junior has been a consistent cog in NYU’s starting lineup throughout the year and now has a record of 12-12 after winning both his matches on Saturday.

“I thought we really dominated and showed how tough we are as a team,” Yuan said. “We looked physical out there and dominated our opponents.”

The toughness that Yuan mentioned really showed, as NYU only lost one of their matches against Washington and Lee. Sophomore Anthony Calvano got his groove back after losing his first match against McDaniel. Calvano at 141 pounds beat his opponent 4-1, giving the Grapplers a lead of 9-0 at that point. NYU never looked back.

At this point in the season many of the Grapplers are looking to build their resumes, as the postseason lies ahead. The team has a week to recuperate as they are back in action for the UAA Championship in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 13.

A version of this article appeared in the Feb. 8 print edition. Email Eli Edwards at [email protected].