From NYU Athletics

The New York University wrestling team competed in the "Grapple at the Garden" at Madison Square Garden, on Sunday morning, November 29, in Manhattan.

Despite several strong performances, NYU dropped a 28-12 decision to Stevens Tech at "The World's Most Famous Arena". 

After dropping the first bout, NYU took its only lead of the match when Nathan Pike produced a 17-1 tech fall victory over the Ducks' Yoseph Borai at 133 pounds. Pike earned NCAA All-America honors last season as a 133-pounder. 

"Nathan is wrestling really well right now. He is showing us that he is a national contender," said Senior Assistant Coach Corey Luce. "Expectiations from him and from us is for him to be a national champion."

That was as close as NYU would get, however, as the team's only other victory came from a 14-5 major decision from William Gockel-Figge over Stevens' Danny Moore in the 184-pound bout. 

"Watching his performance today, I think that Williams is at the top of his game," Luce suggested. "I'm excited to watch him as we move forward."

NOTABLES:

- This was the second time NYU has wrestled at Madison Square Garden. The grapplers also fell to Stevens Tech in 2013. 

"Wrestling at Madison Square Garden is certainly among the highlights on our schedule," Luce said. "It's a great experience and something many of our guys won't have ever the opportunity to do except with us. It was an electrifying atmosphere and we were happy to be here."  

- NYU is now 3-1 in dual meets this season.

"We were short-handed with four starters out, so we knew that we needed big performances from our replacements and we just didn't get it," Luce explained. "Stevens is the number 12 team in the country and it was a very tough task. That being said, our guys gave a great effort."