KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Feb. 17, 2024) – Back-to-back first-period pinfalls by freshman Tyler Withers (Gettysburg, Pa.) and junior Jimmy Dunagan (Boulder City, Nev.) put an exclamation point on a 25-22 comeback victory for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy wrestling team over New England College on Saturday night inside the Liebertz Gymnasium. The dual-meet victory finishes the Mariners' season with a 7-8 record in head-to-head competitions on the season.
 
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Withers, who one week earlier claimed the Centennial Conference Championship at the 184-pound weight class, followed that distinction with a dominant performance over NEC's Dominic Demaio with a pinfall at the 47-second mark of their match. USMMA led by a 19-16 margin after Withers's victory – the first lead for the Mariners all afternoon – before Dunagan took down the Pilgrims' Maxwell Ross in a 16-second eye-blink to give the Mariners the victory in the meet.
 
The wins from Withers and Dunagan capped off a run of five victories in a row for USMMA after New England College won the first four matches of the day. Down 16-0, junior Austin Manning (Virginia Beach, Va.) got the Mariners on the board with a 19-1 technical-fall victory over the Pilgrims' Joe Gangi at the 157-pound weight class. A 19-12 decision in favor of Matthew Ferrucci (Killingworth, Conn.) at 165 cut USMMA's deficit to a 16-8 margin before sophomore Ivan Corral (Oak Forest, Ill.) scored a 21-6 technical fall victory at 174 over Trevion Atallah to set up Withers and Dunagan for the consecutive pins to win the day.
 
USMMA has concluded its dual-meet season, but the Mariners' campaign is not completed just yet. The team will now head to the NCAA Division III Northeast Regional Championships on Mar. 2-3 in Worcester, Mass. on the campus of WPI.
 
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