On Jan. 25, the Mercyhurst Lakers wrestling team hosted a home match in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center against the Shippensburg University Raiders.

The Lakers dominated the PSAC match, defeating Shippensburg 42-6 while scoring bonus points in seven of the nine victories. Since 2009, the Lakers have not lost to Shippensburg and are currently on a 12-match winning streak, this Senior Night was no exception.

Senior Alec Buckiso commented that senior night was definitely a bittersweet event. “The last four years have gone by so fast which is a testament to how much I’ve enjoyed being a part of the team and I’m grateful for the memories I’ve made with the people I’ve met along the way.”

“I thought the team as a whole wrestled really tough. We have really been working on our consistency as a team, and I feel like it really showed Saturday afternoon,” senior wrestler, Logan Grass said.

After a 125 pound forfeit, the Lakers led 6-0. Junior Eric Bartos added 12 points to Mercyhurst’s score with a 42-second fall into the third at 133. Junior Alexis Soriano scored a 7-2 decision leading Mercyhurst to a 15-0 advantage.

Shippensburg managed to pin at 149, but sophomore Michael Clark upped Mercyhurst’s score with an 8-0 major decision. Grass then posted a 9-0 major at 165 propelling the Lakers to a 23-6 lead.

“For myself, it was a very bittersweet feeling, wrestling one of my final home duals in the MAC. However, I’m happy it went the way it did,” Grass said.

Senior Kevin Holman added six more points with his fall just a little over a minute with Raiders’ sophomore Colton Babcock.

“Our team is doing great right now, and we have guys on the team that have been winning big matches. One in particular was our heavyweight, Jake Robb. He beat another kid ranked top ten in the country and looks to do it again this weekend in Kutztown,” said Holman.

With the Lakers’ strong start at the beginning of the match, the match was clinched around 285 between two nationally ranked wrestlers. After Mercyhurst junior Jacob Robb and the Raiders’ senior Derek Berberick faced off, Robb was able to build a 3-0 lead after two periods ending with a 4-0 victory.

At the heavyweight stage, Mercyhurst’s Trever Begin and Luke McGonigal each scored a 16-0 technical fall.

Coach Mike Wehler said, “We wrestled really well and it was a great performance to honor our seniors. Those guys have done so much for our program and it was nice to repay them with a good performance in front of their families.”

The Lakers are next set to wrestle at East Stroudsburg on Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.