Bears Sweep Tri-Match with Coast Guard & Williams

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Senior 184-pounder Jim Quinlan (Methuen, MA) became Bridgewater State's all-time wins leader as he helped the Bears sweep a New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) tri-match with Coast Guard Academy and Williams College this evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears defeated Coast Guard by the score of 43-9 and capped off the evening with a 25-12 victory over Williams.

With the pair of wins, Bridgewater improves its dual meet record to 4-2.  The Bears are also now 2-1 in the Pilgrim Wrestling League (PWL) as the match with Coast Guard was also a Pilgrim League match.

Williams knocked off Coast Guard, 30-18, in the opening match of the evening.  The Ephs are now 6-4 in dual meet action while Coast Guard falls to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the PWL.

Quinlan surpassed John Fralick (2003-07) with his a 120^th career victory as he pinned Coast Guard's Dan Miller (Chalfort, PA) 37 seconds into the second period. The pin was his team-leading eighth of the season and 62^nd of his career as he continues to add on to his school record.  Quinlan then picked up career win number 121 with a 7-1 decision over Nate Shippee (Bolton, CT) of Williams College.

Freshman Greg Martin (Wantage, NJ) continued his stellar wrestling of late as he picked up a pair of pins in the 141-pound weight class to tie Quinlan for the team lead. Martin has pinned five of his last six opponents.

Junior John Marsh (New Bedford, MA) also picked up a pair of wins including a big 10-8 decision over Williams' sophomore Carl Breitenstein (Delanson, NY).  Heading into the match, Breitenstein was ranked second in New England while Marsh was ranked fourth.

Seniors Tim Ferreira (Danbury, CT) and Eric Coughlan (Sandwich, MA) also highlighted the tri-match sweep for the Bears.  The heavyweight Ferreira earned an 11-5 decision in the match against Coast Guard and followed that up with a convincing 18-6 major decision victory versus Williams. The 133-pound Coughlan posted an 11-3 major decision victory against Coast Guard and then battled his way to a 9-8 win over Mike Penza (Foxboro, MA) of Williams.

Ferreira now has 89 wins in his career at BSC as he is one victory behind Brett Murray (1995-99) for fourth place on the Bears' all-time list.

Bridgewater State is back in action on Sunday as the Bears host the NEWA Dual Meet Tournament which gets underway at 10 AM. Williams and Coast Guard will also be among the 15 teams competing at the Tinsley Center on Sunday.

Williams College (30) - Coast Guard Academy (18)