WORCESTER -- WPI Wrestling hosted the opening day of the 2024 NCAA Division III Northeast Regional on Saturday and freshman Joseph Tully (Carver, MA) won three matches to advance to Sunday's final day with chance to advance to the national championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin in two weeks.
 
The Engineers received victories from seven different wrestlers on the opening day of the 20-team tournament. The hosts amassed 33.50 points on the day and sit in 14th place overall. Johnson & Wales leads with 113 points while Castleton and Coast Guard are tied for second place seven points back with 106 each.
 
Tully, seeded sixth at 184 pounds, began his tournament with a pair of bonus point victories, including a 15-0 tech fall (2:02) against Plymouth State and second period pin (3:55) versus Springfield. Following a loss to the third-seeded wrestler from Castleton, Tully punched his ticket to Sunday with a high-scoring 18-6 major decision against Western New England.
 
Joining Tully with three triumphs on Saturday was 133-pounder Charlie Pavis (Bethlehem, PA).  The sophomore was a model of consistency, capturing all three of his bouts by decision.  Pavis began with a 4-2 first round win over Roger Williams and after getting knocked off in his next match, bounced back with an 8-4 victory against Rhode Island College a 7-3 upset of the fifth-seeded grappler from Southern Maine.
 
Ryan Hsu (Norwood, MA) was, along with Tully, WPI's other quarterfinalist on the day.  After a first round, Hsu upended the 165-pound eighth seed from Plymouth State 7-2 before being defeated by the top-ranked wrestler from Western New England and the fourth seed from NYU.
 
Zachary Rioux (Nashua, NH) also claimed a first round as he pinned his opponent from Trinity earlier in the second period (3:25) at 157 pounds.  The junior came back later in the tournament and posted his second fall, this time at 2:18 of the first period against Bridgewater State.
 
Nicolas LeSieur (Walnut Creek, CA) and Tanner Thatcher (Blairstown, NJ) each rebounded from first round losses to combine for four victories before falling in the final round of the day.  LeSieur made quick work of his foes at 197 pounds with a pair of first-minute falls, the first in just 31 seconds against Hunter and the latter in 51 seconds versus New England College. Thatcher, seeded fifth at a stacked 125-pound class, was upset in his opening round match by an NYU wrestler who was just one of two unseeded wrestlers to make a semifinal of the 10 classes.  Thatcher responded by delivering two bonus points wins a 9-1 major decision against Western New England and a first period fall (1:39) versus Wesleyan.
 
Mason Basara (Bethlehem, PA) and Ethan Edmondson (Milford, CT) were the source of wins on Saturday.  Basara bested his opponent from RIC at 141 pounds 15-9 while Edmondson pinned his foe from Western New England at 1:46 of the first period.
 
Others competing for WPI on Saturday were Joey Baisley (Charlotte, NC) at 149 pounds and heavyweight Trevor Bowen (Frenchtown, NJ).
 
Tully is back in action on day two of the regional championship beginning at 10am in the WPI Sports & Recreation Center.  The rookie needs three wins to advance to the national championship.
 
Brackets

Team Scores