WORCESTER -- Tanner Thatcher (Blairstown, NJ) and Ethan Edmondson (Milford, CT) both posted victories for host WPI as the Engineers dropped a 34-6 match-up to nationally-ranked Coast Guard Wednesday evening inside the Sports & Recreation Center.
 
With the result, the Bears, ranked 15th in the most recent National Wrestling Coaches Association Dual Meet Top 25, remain undefeated at 4-0 on the season while WPI dips to 7-3 overall.
 
In a match that featured just one fall, Coast Guard logged three tech falls and a major decision in addition to its pin.  Carl DiGiorgio (Doylestown, PA), the fifth-ranked heavyweight in the country, claimed the first Bear tech fall of the night when he logged a 21-6 score just 2:14 into the bout.
 
Thatcher found himself down 6-1 in the first period of his bout that featured a pair of regionally and nationally-ranked 125-pounders.  Thatcher, third in the NWCA's Northeast region rankings and 17th in the Open Mat's national rankings, registered a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the third period over the region's fourth and nation's 18th-ranked grappler to go ahead for the first time at 7-6.  An escape by Coast Guard tied the match at 7-7 but Thatcher held an over one minute advantage in riding time to win the match 8-7 to improve to 15-2 overall and 8-0 in dual meets this season.
 
Ahead 5-3 at that point, the Bears tallied wins in the next six bouts to secure the team victory.  Defending national champion and current top-ranked Chase Randall (Spokane, WA) got the spurt started at 133 pounds with a 19-4 tech fall at 3:41 followed by a 10-6 decision by Owen Woolcott (State College, PA) at 141.  Nate Fitt (Branchville, NJ), ranked #12 at 149, delivered the only pin of the night when he forced his opponent's shoulders to the mat at 1:32.   The back half of the Coast Guard run included a Jacob Woodburn (Greensboro, NC) 15-2 major decision at 157, a very competitive 5-1 win by decision for Landon Kearns (East Brunswick, NJ) at 165 and while Caden Stout (St. Clairsville, OH) earned a 10-7 upset at 174 with a takedown in SV1.

Edmondson got WPI back into the win column by grinding out a 14-10 victory at 184 pounds.  It was the senior's second win in three bouts since returning from an injury.  Coast Guard closed out the night with Kevin Pandorf (Elmer, NJ) recording a 20-4 tech fall at 5:35 of his 197-pound match.
 
WPI headed to Bristol, RI on Saturday morning for an 11am quad at Roger Williams with Trinity and Johnson & Wales while Coast Guard hosts New England College the same day at 1pm inside Billard Hall.
 
Results