WORCESTER -- WPI rallied with bonus point victories in the last four and five of the last six bouts as the Engineers rallied for a 30-24 victory over Southern Maine to complete a sweep of New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) opponents on Saturday at home in the Sports & Recreation Center.  Earlier in the day, the Crimson and Gray cruised to a 42-9 win against New England College in the opener.
 
With the triumphs, WPI improves to 11-8 on the season, guaranteeing its first winning season since 2018-19 with a pair of dual meets remaining in two weeks.  Southern Maine (5-10) and New England College (2-14), who will wrestle in a dual meet later this month, did not square off against each other on Saturday.
 
In the night cap, the early weights were dominated by nationally-ranked wrestlers from both sides that saw Southern Maine jump out to a 18-5 victory after four bouts.  The Engineers led 5-0 as Tanner Thatcher (Blairstown, NJ), ranked 14th in the most recent 125 pound Open Mat rankings, got the hosts off to a quick start with a 15-0 tech fall at 2:56 of the first period.  The Huskies then rattled off three straight falls, with Jake Craig (Norridgewock, ME), the second-ranked National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) 133-pounder starting the surge with a pin at 1:56.  Kyle Moore (Kennebunk, ME), a NWCA regionally-ranked grappler, quickly followed with a pin 30 seconds into his bout at 141 and Colby Frost (Steep Falls, ME), the top-ranked 149-pounder in the country delivered a last second period fall at 4:22.
 
Southern Maine continued to lead 24-11 after the two teams traded pins in the next two weight classes.  Ethan Wilson (Braintree, MA) got WPI back into the win column with a fall at 2:34 at 157 pounds while USM's 165-pounder Derek Cote (Lebanon, ME) answered back quickly with a fall of his own at 2:28.
 
It was all WPI from that point forward.  Joseph Tully (Carver, MA) got the match-winning run started at 174 pounds.  The sophomore, ranked fourth in the Northeast Region, turned the tide with a 11-4 major decision.  Ethan Edmondson (Milford, CT) got the Engineers back within striking distance at 24-20 with a 22-4 tech fall (6:04) at 184 before the Crimson and Gray took the lead at 197 pounds with a Nicolas LeSieur (Walnut Creek, CA) pin with just 35 seconds remaining in the bout.
 
All eyes turned to the winner-take-all heavyweight match, and after a slow-scoring start, WPI's Joseph Bernard (Stratham, NH) found himself down 1-0 on a second period escape but the junior responded with a takedown and near fall points late in the middle frame and then added a pair of third period takedowns to win the match 11-3 by major decision and provide the Engineers a dramatic 30-24 team victory.
 
In the opener versus New England College, the hosts captured eight of the 10 bouts, with seven of them being of the bonus point variety.   Thatcher and Charlie Pavis (Bethlehem, PA) began with pins, Thatcher registering his at 1:15 at 125 pounds and Pavis notching his at 3:36 at 133 pounds.  New England College was victorious in two of the next three matches with nationally-ranked Bobur Berdiyorov (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) providing a 18-3 tech fall with just eight seconds remaining in the first period at 141 pounds and a Zach Soda (Burlington, MA) 11-3 major decision at 157.  The two Pilgram wins were sandwiched around a Mason Basara (Bethlehem, PA) win by decision (11-4) at 149.
 
The Engineers posted wins in the final five matches to transform a 15-9 advantage into a 42-9 triumph.  Theo Sawyers (Boston, MA) ended his 165-pound bout with a 15-0 tech fall at the final buzzer, Ryan Hsu (Norwood, MA) recorded a 12-3 major decision at 174 and Edmondson pinned his 184-pound foe at 1:31 before Bernard and Trevor Bowen (Frenchtown, NJ) were awarded forfeits at 197 and heavyweight to close out the win.
 
WPI is off next week in preparation of a busy weekend the following weekend to close out the regular season.  The Engineers will have rematches of their final opponents Sunday when they return to the mat at 7pm on Friday, February 14th at Springfield while returning home the next day to celebrate Senior Day versus Western New England at 5pm inside Harrington Auditorium.  Southern Maine is at Western New England next Saturday for a tri-match with Plymouth State.   NEC is back in action the same day, venturing to Rhode Island College for an 11am dual meet.
 
WPI 42, New England College 9

WPI 30, Southern Maine 24