Roger Williams Wrestling shows well in important tournament

While students were away from campus, the wrestling team was hard at work. The first major tournament after the holidays had the team travel to the Hampton Coliseum in Virginia for a very important tournament.
The Hawks first faced the Apprentice school and immediately got out to an early lead. When the match was all said and done, the Hawks had dominated the competition 40-6. Next up was the division II opponent, Gannon University. The Gannon team had been competing at a very high level all season long and after a grueling match, escaped with a 27-9 win over the Hawks.
After the loss, the team faced Division I opponent, the Duquesne Dukes. The Hawks were immediately up to the opposition and split the first two matches. During the 141 and 149 pound competition, the Dukes moved ahead with back-to-back wins. After the two losses, the Hawks found their stride and were able to win three straight matches. Chris Nadeau, at the 174 pound division was able to get the victory by fall for the Hawks. After losing at 184 and winning at 197, the Hawks were up 21-19 with just one match remaining. Dan Woods proved to be the hero of the day coming up huge for his team while wrestling up from his normal 197 pound division. Woods eventually won the match 5-1,which gave the Hawks the impressive 24-19 win.
Next up in the tourney was the division III opponent Brockport University, ranked 19th in the country. After strong matches in the lighter weight classes by both schools, the Hawks entered the final two matches with a one-point lead. After a defeat in the 197 division, Nick Cambi moved up to heavyweight while giving up more than 50 pounds to his opponent. Cambi wrestled well against his heavier opponent but eventually lost in overtime.
After defeating Wesleyan University at home, 24-13, RWU hosted the New England Dual Championship. The tournament featured15 schools from the area and was sure to be an eventful weekend. In the end, the Hawks finished seventh in the Championship bracket, while Johnson & Wales finished first.
After the New England Duals, RWU traveled to Cambridge, Mass., where they defeated MIT and Bridgewater State College. After the back-to-back wins, the team traveled to Hunter College in New York for the Metro Conference Challenge.
Andrew Hawley immediately got his team out to an early lead by pinning his opponent early on in the match. After dropping the next three matches, Nadeau stepped up by winning his match which started the streak for his team. The Hawks went on to win the final three matches of the round and moved on to face The College of New Jersey. The Hawks struggled against New Jersey and in the end were defeated, 31-6. In the last match of the day RWU faced New York University. Andrew Hawley, Nadeau, Woods and Phil Kelly all wrestled well for the team while earning the win. However the Hawks lost the overall match to New York, 23-15.
Phil Kelly, a sophomore from Quincy, Mass., has been recognized as the New England wrestler of the week as well as being named the RWU male athlete of the week. Kelly had a brilliant streak going 3-0 on the mat that consisted of two pins and a major win over the top ranked heavyweight in the country.
"Over the past few months, we have been up and down as a team," said Andy Jackson. "We will continue to work hard throughout the season and expect to finish off the year competing at a high level."
The Hawks' season record now lies at 13-7 and the will next travel to Rhode Island College where it will face the University of Southern Maine on Feb. 7.