BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins wrestling team dropped a pair of Centennial Conference duals at home Saturday afternoon as the short-handed Blue Jays fell to the Merchant Marine Academy (27-23) and Muhlenberg (35-13).  Hopkins slips to 2-7 overall and 0-4 in the Centennial with the two losses; in both matches, the Blue Jays were without their 125 and 141-pounders.
 
Hoffmann Sets School Record Against USMMA
Sophomore Jake Hoffmann etched his name in the Blue Jay record book with a 20-5 victory in his match against Matthew Farrucci of the Merchant Marine Academy.  Hoffmann entered the day with nine technical falls on the year, which tied him with Joe Paul (2021-22) for the most by a Blue Jay in a single season.  Hoffmann used six takedowns, an escape and point of riding time to notch his record-breaking 10^th tech of the season.
 
Hoffmann's win was the middle victory in a run of three straight for the Blue Jays that helped turn a 15-5 deficit into a 17-15 lead.  A Dhilan Patel technical fall at 133 was the only Hopkins win in the first four bouts, but Connor Powell grabbed a 7-0 win over Austin Manning at 157, Hoffmann followed with his technical fall and Chris Roybal added a 15-4 major decision of Trevor Badiu to give Hopkins the two-point lead.
 
The Mariners locked up the win with back-to-back pins at 184 and 197 before Jacob Pomykata won by forfeit at 285 for the Blue Jays to account for the 27-23 final score.
 
Roybal Upsets Eighth-Ranked Dewar
Roybal carried the momentum of his major decision against the Mariners into his highly-anticipated matchup against Muhlenberg's Anson Dewar, who entered the match with an 8-0 record this season and ranked eighth in the nation.
 
Roybal never trailed in the bout as he led 3-1 after the first period, 6-3 after the second and was up 6-4 after Dewar grabbed a penalty point early in the third, but he earned an escape and added a late takedown on the edge of the mat to lock down a 10-5 victory.
 
As they had against the Mariners, the Blue Jays found themselves in an early hole as the forfeits at 125 and 141 and wins by technical fall at 133 and decision at 149 gave the Mules a 20-0 lead.
 
Powell again jump-started a run for the Blue Jays as he scored a second-period pin of Chris Sockler (4:23) before Hoffmann added a 22-9 major decision of Nicholas Stump.  When Roybal followed with his upset of Dewar, the Blue Jays were within 20-13 with three bouts remaining.
 
The Mules would put the match away with a pair of pins and a win by decision to secure the 35-13 victory.
 
Notes of Interest
Roybal's first win of the day against Merchant Marine was his 25^th career victory – he is now 26-14 in his career.  Hoffmann improved his season record to 27-8 and his career mark to 55-23.
 
What's Next
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Friday, February 2 when the Blue Jays welcome Gettysburg to Goldfarb Gym to close out the Centennial Conference portion of their schedule (7 pm).
 
USMMA-27, Johns Hopkins 23
125 – Calvin Burton (M) win by forfeit (6-0)
133 – Dhilan Patel (J) tech. fall Colin Dragon (M), 25-10 (6-5)
141 – Charles Lausten (M) win by forfeit (12-5)
149 – Matthew Trinidad (M) dec. Freddy Pimental (J), 9-5 (15-5)
157 – Connor Powell (J) dec. Austin Manning (M), 7-0 (15-8)
165 – Jake Hoffmann (J) tech. fall Matthew Ferrucci (M), 20-5 (15-13)
174 – Chris Roybal (J) maj. dec. Trevor Badiu (M), 15-4 (15-17)
184 – Tyler Withers (M) pin Samuel Gledhill (J) (2:22) (21-17)
197 – Grant Mathias (M) pin Jack Dunn (J) (4:54) (27-17)
285 – Jacob Pomykata (J) win by forfeit (27-23)
 
Muhlenberg-35, Johns Hopkins-13
125 – Brian McCaw (MUHL) win by forfeit (6-0)
133 – Frank DiEsso (MUHL) tech fall Dhilan Patel (J), 21-6 (11-0)
141 – Andrew Loniewski (MUHL) win by forfeit (17-0)
149 – Alexander Greco (MUHL) dec. Freddy Pimental (J), 12-9 (20-0)
157 – Connor Powell (J) pin Chris Sockler (MUHL) (4:23) (20-6)
165 – Jake Hoffmann (J) maj. dec. Nicholas Stump (MUHL), 22-9 (20-10)
174 – Chris Roybal (J) dec. #8 Anson Dewar (MUHL), 10-5 (20-13)
184 – Fletcher Goodman (MUHL) pin Samuel Gledhill (J) (6:01) (26-13)
197 –  Paul Parise (MUHL) pin Jack Dunn (J) (4:11) (32-13)
285 – Andrew Franklin (MUHL) dec. Jacob Pomykata (J), 8-2 (35-13)
 
Exhibitions
157 - Dillon Heffernan (J) pin Ethan Kreutzberg (MUHL) (1:46)
174 – Nicholas Hwang (J) pin Collin Boldt (MUHL) (0:59)
174 – Tyson Dereberger (MUHL) tech fall Noah Graber (J), 16-1
 
Records
Johns Hopkins (2-7, 0-4 CC)
Merchant Marine (5-6, 2-3 CC)
Muhlenberg (10-2, 5-0 CC)