BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University wrestling team hosted a quad meet on Friday evening at John J. Kelly Gymnasium. The meet also marked Senior Night for the Bears as five BSU grapplers were honored.

The Bears (2-9) opened the quad with a dramatic 22-19 come-from-behind win over Rhode Island College. Bridgewater then dropped a 26-21 decision to Division II AIC, and closed out the meet with a tough 26-22 setback to Trinity College.

The Bears trailed 19-9 in the match against RIC with three bouts remaining. BSU junior Edwin Morales (Philadelphia, Pa.) moved up a weight class to 197 and earned an injury default victory over RIC senior Daniel Sblendorio (Mountainside, N.J.). Morales entered the meet as the third ranked 184-pounder in the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA), while Sblendorio was ranked sixth at 197. A 13-3 major decision by junior heavyweight Ryan Higgins (Billerica, Mass.) knotted the score at 19-19. Junior Wilson Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde) then capped off the comeback with a 5-4 decision at 125 as the bout was decided by a late reversal.

Sophomore Steven Wise (Haverhill, Mass.) and senior Fox Maxwell (Winchester, Mass.) also picked up wins for the Bears in the win over the Anchormen. Wise pinned (6:05) his opponent at 149, while Maxwell earned a 5-2 decision at 174.

Bridgewater battled back from a 23-0 deficit in the setback to AIC, but the comeback bid came up just short. Pins by junior Kevin Carlucci (Franklin, Mass.) at 165 and Morales at 184 sandwiched around a Maxwell 2-0 decision at 174 closed the gap to 23-15. Freshman Justin Osler (Branford, Conn.), however, clinched the match for the Yellow Jackets with a 5-3 decision at the 197-pound weight class. Freshman heavyweight Orcun Pekacar (Dedham, Mass.) rounded out the scoring for the Bears with his first collegiate pin.

The final match of the day was a back-and-forth affair with Trinity. Maxwell started things off with a 17-9 major decision at 174 and Morales followed with a 9-3 decision at 184 to give the Bears the early 7-0 lead. After back-to-back setbacks at 197 and heavyweight, Gomes pinned his opponent at 125 to put the hosts back in top, 13-9. The two teams exchanged wins over the final five bouts. Freshman Stuart Glover (North Reading, Mass.) picked up the win by fall at 141 and freshman Michael Hopkins (Swampscott, Mass.) battled to a 3-0 decision at 157 as the Bears led 22-20 with one bout to go. Junior Kevin Lyskawa (Londonderry, N.H.), ranked second in the NEWA individual rankings at 165, recorded a match-ending pin to give AIC the 26-22 victory.

Maxwell (22-7) and Morales (15-3) both finished 3-0 on the day to lead the way for Bridgewater State, while Gomes (21-8) went 2-1 and recorded his team-leading ninth pin.

Prior to the meet, the Bears honored Morales and fellow seniors Anthony Farrell (Raynham, Mass.), Christian LaChance (Brockton, Mass.), David MacNeil (Woburn, Mass.) and Devin Winn (Brockton, Mass.).

The BSU wrestling is off until Sunday, February 20th when several members of the squad will compete at the NEWA Futures Tournament hosted by Johnson & Wales University.