By Jim Fenton
BRISTOL, R.I. -- Bridgewater State University wrestler Christian Curley (Bridgewater, Mass.) reached the championship round of the Scott Viera Open on Saturday.
Curley, a sophomore in the 197-pound division, lost to Dylan Harr in the final round by fall at 2:35. Harr, who competed for national power Johnson & Wales University last season, was wrestling unattached.
Another BSU wrestler, senior Michael Hopkins (Swampscott, Mass.), placed third in the 174-pound weight class.
The annual meet, which featured eight Division III schools as well as a couple of club teams and a number of unattached wrestlers, was hosted by Roger Williams University.
Curley won three straight matches to reach the championship round.
He opened by winning via technical fall, 15-0, over Nathan Schobel of the Maine Maritime Academy in the round of 16, then defeated Stephen Jennings of Castleton State by fall at 32 seconds in the quarterfinal round.
Curley posted a semifinal-round win over Sebastian Ford of Sacred Heart to get to the final.
Hopkins had an opening-round bye, then won a 9-3 decision over Dominic Pugliese of Johnson & Wales in the round of 16.
In the quarterfinal round, Hopkins won by technical fall, 15-0, over Kyle Stickel Shamong of the Maine Maritime Academy.
Hopkins lost in the semifinal round by a 10-3 decision to Michael Schliem of Johnson & Wales.
In the consolation rounds, Hopkins won twice, defeating Jake Long of Castleton State by major decision, 12-0, and David Lisk of Western New England to finish third.
Junior Sei Dolomengi (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) won his first two matches of the day at 125 pounds for the Bears.
Dolomengi won a majority decision, 11-3, over Beniamino DiCocco of Western New England in the round of 16 and by technical fall, 17-2, over unattached Ryder Le at 6:59 in the quarterfinal round.
He lost by fall (3:34) to Ryan O'Rourke in the semifinal round. O'Rourke also competed for national power Johnson & Wales University last season and was wrestling unattached.
In the consolation round, Dolomengi was stopped by decision in a rematch with DiCocco, 10-6.
Sophomore 157-pounder Jack Janes (Avon, Conn.), freshmen 141-pounder Owen Menendez (Marlborough, Mass.) and freshman heavyweight Mathew Piper (Townsend, Mass.) also recorded multiple wins for the Bears as they each went 2-2 out of their respective weight classes.
Janes recorded a pair of pins while Piper notched a win by fall and Menendez posted a technical fall victory.
BSU is idle until Jan. 11 when it travels to Worcester for a tri-meet with Wesleyan University and host Worcester Polytechnic Institute starting at noon.