Mamaroneck Wrestling Falls to New Rochelle

After the first dozen matches, it looked like Mamaroneck just might give New Rochelle some competition in their dual wrestling meet in New Rochelle Friday afternoon.  But in the end, New Rochelle proved why it is regarded as one of the strongest wrestling teams in the section, beating the Tigers 62-16.

"They're very good," said Mamaroneck Head Coach Anthony Vitti.  "They're the benchmark of our league the last couple of years; so you want a measuring stick in our league, you go up against New Rochelle."

Wins by Mamaroneck in some of the middle-weight classes kept things close early.  A great effort by Mamaroneck wrestler Andres Pedraza helped the Tigers build a 16-15 lead.  But once the momentum swung in the direction of New Rochelle it stayed there for the remainder of the night.

"I thought that our team would do better, that we would be able to hold up a lead and win," said Pedraza.

Unfortunately for Mamaroneck, that wouldn't be the case on Friday.  As three forfeits gave New Rochelle 18 free points, the Tigers chances for the upset faded quickly as the afternoon went on.

"We were down 18 points to start the match," said Vitti.  "That definitely hurts."

It hurts even more against a team like New Rochelle.  After a forfeit win gave New Rochelle a 21-16 lead, they finished the night with nine consecutive victories en route to the lopsided victory.

"We felt we were going to be pretty dominant once we got rolling on the back side," said New Rochelle Head Coach Jim Guccione.  "(That's) where we have most of our better guys."

New Rochelle went on to dominate right down to the final match when Anthony Gabriel ended the competition by pinning Mamaroneck's Dion Duran in only 18 seconds,  and wrapping up what turned out to be a learning experience for a young Mamaroneck team.

"In order to get better, you must wrestle better teams," said Pedraza.  "That's something that coach has instilled in us."