FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. - The Binghamton Wrestling team finished day one at the South Beach Duals 1-1 with a 31-15 win over conference foe Franklin & Marshall to start the day. They later fell to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in a close 24-22 loss. Overall, the Bearcats earned nine bonus point wins on the day as they went 12-16 as a team in contested matches. Redshirt junior Joe Nelson, redshirt senior Jake Nicholson, redshirt sophomore Tristan Rifanburg, redshirt junior Vincent DePrez and redshirt junior Anthony Lombardo all went 2-0 on the day.

"The guys came out of the gate wrestling hard today," acting head coach Kyle Borshoff said. "They battled, they fought hard and they came together as a team when they needed to. It's a huge stepping stone for us as we move forward in our season and start preparing for post-season."

The highlight of the day came from redshirt freshman Alex Melikian, making his varsity debut for the Bearcats at 197 pounds. In his first match of the day against Steven Mercadante, Melikian came out of the gates strong as he recorded his first dual pin of his career at 4:37.

"It was a really special day for Alex," Borshoff said. "He was a couple guys deep on the depth chart at 174 pounds a couple weeks ago, then we sat down and talked about his future moving forward with this season and discussed the option of him wrestling 197 at this event. He came out wrestling hard today knowing what was on the line. Not only did he exceed expectations in his first match, he came away with a pin. Anytime you can pin a Division I opponent, that's a huge deal. So for him to do that in his first varsity match for us is a really important step for him and our program."

In the first match against Franklin & Marshall, the Bearcats won seven out of eight contested matches, recording five bonus point wins. Nelson set the tone right away for Binghamton with an 8-0 major over Edgar Garcia to put the Bearcats at an early 4-0 lead.

Redshirt sophomore Frankie Garcia put on a show for the Bearcats, turning an escape into a quick takedown followed by a set of back points to fuel a 16-1 tech over Sam Butler.

At 165 pounds, DePrez stepped on the mat ready to wrestle, as he quickly pinned Dylan Gumaer at 3:57. Lombardo continued the show at 174, earning a 9-1 major over Josh Young before Melikian stole the spotlight adding a second pin to the Bearcats score sheet.

Although the box score showed a 24-22 loss to Southern Illinois, Binghamton dominated in five contested matches by bonus point wins over the Cougars.

Nelson earned his second win of the day with a 10-4 decision over Joe Antonelli to start the match, putting the Bearcats up 3-0. Nicholson followed suit, also earning his second win stringing together three sets of back points with two takedowns to win by tech 16-1 over Antonelli.

Binghamton then saw three bonus point wins in a row from Rifanburg, DePrez and Lombardo. Rifanburg came out strong, as he took a 16-1 tech over Karsten Van Velsor to push the Bearcats to a 13-12 lead. DePrez walked away with a 14-2 major over Nate Higgins before Lombardo earned a 16-1 tech over Mason McDaniel, securing a 22-12 Binghamton lead.

The Bearcats dropped their final three bouts of the match, ultimately falling 24-22 to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Binghamton gets back into action tomorrow as they square off against two B1G opponents in Michigan State at 11 a.m. and Minnesota at 1 p.m. Follow live results on trackwrestling.com and @bearcatswrestle on twitter.

Binghamton vs. Franklin & Marshall, 31-15
 
125 - Joe Nelson (Binghamton University) over Edgar Garcia (Franklin & Marshall) Maj 8-0
133 - Jacob Nicholson (Binghamton University) over Dan Martoccio (Franklin & Marshall) Dec 6-0
141 - Brett Kulp (Franklin & Marshall) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
149 - Frank Garcia (Binghamton University) over Sam Butler (Franklin & Marshall) TF 16-1
157 - Tristan Rifanburg (Binghamton University) over Emmett LiCastri (Franklin & Marshall) Dec 5-0
165 - Vincent DePrez (Binghamton University) over Dylan Gumaer (Franklin & Marshall) Fall 3:57
174 - Anthony Lombardo (Binghamton University) over Josh Young (Franklin & Marshall) Maj 9-1
184 - Jimmy Stillerman (Franklin & Marshall) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
197 - Alexander \Melikian (Binghamton University) over Steven Mercadante (Franklin & Marshall) Fall 4:37
HWT - Antonio Pelusi (Franklin & Marshall) over Sean Dee (Binghamton University) Dec 3-1
 
Southern Illinois Edwardsville vs. Binghamton University 24-22
 
125 - Joe Nelson (Binghamton University) over Zachary Gentzler (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) Dec 10-4
133 - Jacob Nicholson (Binghamton University) over Joe Antonelli (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) TF 16-0
141 - John Muldoon (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
149 - Tyshawn Williams (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) over Frank Garcia (Binghamton University) Fall 4:29
157 - Tristan Rifanburg (Binghamton University) over Karsten Van Velsor (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) TF 16-1
165 - Vincent DePrez (Binghamton University) over Nate Higgins (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) Maj 14-2
174 - Anthony Lombardo (Binghamton University) over Mason McDaniel (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) TF 16-1
184 - Bryce Shewan (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
197 - Christian Dulaney (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) over Alexander Melikian (Binghamton University) Dec 4-3
HWT - Tommy Helton (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) over Sean Dee (Binghamton University) TB-1 3-2