From the Top Row @ The Suffolk County Duals Sayville vs. Hauppauge

By John Passaro on January 23, 2020 • ( 1 Comment )

Round 16 – Sayville vs Hauppauge

Sayville wins the battles.

Hauppauge wins the war.

There is a time when a young team is in the process of developing when they learn a little about themselves that they may not have known prior to a competition.

These occasions usually occur in overmatched, fight or flight situations.

15th seed Sayville learned a little about themselves this evening vs. #2 seeded Hauppauge.

When faced with the choice of fight or flight, Sayville chose to fight, and that’s all a coach can ask from his team.

Yes, they were overmatched, but they probably knew that coming into the match.

What they didn’t know is how they would respond to a challenge.

Now they do know.

They passed the test.

Hauppauge was clearly the better team, heck, everyone in the state knows they are going to compete not only for a team tournament title but also for a dual meet championship in NYS.

Not many teams can do that.

Most great teams either have a great tournament team, or dual meet team.

Rarely, if ever, does a team have the opportunity to win both titles.

Hauppauge can.

Driving to the match today, I highlighted to myself three matches where Sayville would learn a little about themselves.

113 – Murtha (Say) vs Volpe (Hauppauge)
120 – Yirdaw (Say) vs Volpe (Hauppauge) and
182 – LoPresti (Say) vs Tyrell (Hauppauge)

In two of those matchups, 113 and 182, the Hauppauge wrestler was ranked #1 coming into the match.

Sayville won all three matches,

which is impressive and may be an early sign of how good Sayville could eventually be with off-season work and wrestling maturity.

Here’s how the match transpired.

106 – Luke Clackett starts Hauppauge off with a fall, 6-0 Hauppauge.
113 – Volpe (Hauppauge) almost goes up 2-0 early with an ankle pick on the line. He gets a takedown with 33 left in first. Murtha gets 1 with 15 left in the first. 2-1 Volpe after the first period. Volpe gets an escape 13 seconds into the 2nd period to go up 3-1. After a minute of ear to ear Murtha hits a dump for 5 to go up 6-3 with 30 left in the 2nd. Murtha chooses down and here is where I believe the match changed. Down 6-3 Volpe cuts Murtha to start the 3rd period. To make it 7-3. This virtually takes Murtha out of his worst position, bottom, and puts him in his best position, neutral. I’d rather see Volpe get a stall on top to make it 6-4 and work for a turn to tie or win it. It winds up no points are scored in the 3rd but Volpe does almost lock up a cradle but Murtha breaks it without giving up any points. 7-3 final. (6-3 Hauppauge)
120 – Yirdaw gets the pin. Sayville up 9-6. Not an ounce of panic on Hauppauge bench.
126 – Luke Smith gets the fall (12-9 Hauppauge)
132 – Dibartolo gets the tech in 3rd – continues to look strong. (17-9 Hauppauge)
138 – Maiorini wins 9-1. (21-9 Hauppauge)
145 – swing match could have went either way. Hauppauge gets the pin, possible 12 point swing. (27-9 Hauppauge)

152 – Sayville I like the way Harry Wessels has competed his last few matches. I always said, give me a kid who loves to compete and the rest is easy. Wessels gets the Fall (27-15 Hauppauge)
160 – LoPresti (Say) pushes the pace in the first, 0-0. He adds an escape in the 2nd, 1-0. LoPresti gets a takedown with 1 min left in the 2nd, 3-0. LoPresti finishes the 2nd with a hard, hips to the mat ride. After the hard 1 minute ride in 2nd, Hauppauge has choice and takes down. LoPresti has another hard, hips to the mat ride for 1:15 before getting stall warning. Hauppauge gets an escape on the restart, 3-1. With 30 left, LoPresti starts to retreat. 3-1 final. 27-18 (Hauppauge)
- 170 – Danny Mauriello gets the fall as brother Chris looks on from a neutral position from behind the scorers table. Danny looks good, fresh, dominant. The fall gives Hauppauge the 33–18 lead.
- 182 – LoPresti (Say) vs Tyrell (Hauppauge) – Both wrestlers spend 5 1/2 of the 6 minutes ear to ear. 0-0 after the 1st. LoPresti Grandbys for an escape in the second to go up 1-0. 1:40 into the 2nd, as both wrestlers were ear to ear, Tyrell trips and LoPresti takes advantage of the mishap for 2. (3-0). Tyrell quickly escapes 3-1. LoPresti adds a takedown to go up 5-1. Tyrell escapes. 5-2. LoPresti adds a takedown at the buzzer to win 7-2. (33-21 Hauppauge)
- 195 FFT? 39-21 Hauppauge
- 220 – Hauppauge pin. 45-21
- 285 – Hauppauge pin 51-21
- 99- Manta pin, 57-21 Hauppauge
Hauppauge won dominantly with a 57-21 final decision but

Sayville won all three key matches, which is impressive and may be an early sign of how good Sayville could eventually be.

Today, Hauppauge was clearly the better team.

But that was clear before the match. What became clearer after the match was how good Sayville, with a ton of off-season work, can be.