READING, Pa. — Following some time off for the holidays, Eastern Men's Wrestling returned to the mat for the a dual match at Albright. Though the Eagles won three matches, they dropped their first stand-alone dual of the year by a 35-17 score. Malik Asfour, Ryan Mansueto, and Nicholas DeLorenzo all claimed wins in the match.

Asfour opened the evening with a technical fall at 125. The junior closed out the 17-0 win before the end of the first round. Asfour is currently ranked fourth nationally at 125.

Mansueto made quick work of his match at 141 pounds. The junior earned a pin in the opening two minutes to put the Eagles up 11-3 after three bouts.

After the Lions won at 149 and 157, Nicholas DeLorenzo ended a close match at 165 with a second-period pin to give the Eagles a 17-14 edge in the contest.

The Lions (8-1) showed their depth with wins in the final four weight classes to pick up the program's seventh win of the season.

Jackson Orrell, who has had good success at 125 in invitationals, lost a tight 8-5 decision at 133.

Albright and Eastern will both compete at the MAC Championships in two weeks. Albright competed in wrestling for 50 years before suspending the program in 2006. When Eastern announced it would add wrestling, the target date was the 2026-27 school year.

The Eagles (0-3) will have the next two weeks to prepare for MAC Championships and the meets leading up to the NCAA Regional and National Tournaments.