Before the start of the season, members of the Westhampton Beach wrestling team learned they would be getting new singlets, complete with a new design created by 2013 graduate Liam Bass, son of head coach Paul Bass. The singlets looked sharp, and they were excited to wear them. Then Coach Bass told them they wouldn’t be—until they proved they deserved them.

When the Hurricanes take to the mats again on December 29 and 30 at the Half Hollow Hills East Tournament, they will finally debut the new singlets, thanks to the performance they put in at the Center Moriches Duals this past Saturday and Sunday. In what Bass calls “the toughest dual meet tournament on Long Island, the Hurricanes showed the type of grit that Bass had been waiting to see, going 3-1 on Sunday with wins over teams Bass said his squad was not expected to beat. The Hurricanes went 2-3 against some tough competition on Saturday as well in the first day of the tournament, and—combined with a non-league dual meet against Connetquot on December 17—it meant the Hurricanes had wrestled 10 duals meets in the course of just five days. Bass liked what he saw during that stretch, in both wins and losses, and went as far as saying he was ecstatic, an adjective he does not use often. 

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Wrestling Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press
By Cailin Riley   Dec 15, 2014 1:54 PM

That’s what Westhampton Beach wrestling coach Paul Bass always tells his kids when they compete at tournaments. Placing first, third or fifth means that they’ve won the final match they’ve wrestled, and for Bass, finishing strong is key.

The coach had some mixed feelings about his team’s performance at the Sprig Gardner Tournament at East Hampton High School on Saturday though, overall, he was fairly pleased considering that his wrestlers won eight of the 12 “medal” matches on the day.

Dane Mendoza (99 pounds) and Hunter Hulse (145) were champions for the Hurricanes. It was the first tournament championship for Mendoza, who beat Dan Mauriello of Hauppauge, 12-4, in the finals.

“That’s the best Dane’s ever wrestled,” Bass said. “We’ve been waiting for that for him, so it was kind of special.”

Along the way, Mendoza was dominant with two pins before the easy decision.

Hulse was dominant as well, going 3-0 and beating Matt Carney of Ward Melville, 9-1, in the finals. Hulse also had one pin on the day.

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A team dinner to kick off a season, or get ready before a big match, is a popular tactic used by coaches to create chemistry and cohesiveness.

This year, Paul Bass took it one step further.

Members of the Westhampton Beach wrestling squad toted their sleeping bags and pillows to the high school gymnasium on November 25, the night before their first official practice of the season. After dinner, their parents went home, and the wrestlers got comfortable on the mat, where they spent the night.

At 4:40, a.m., Bass woke them up—and the 2014/15 wrestling season officially began for the Hurricanes, with practice running from 5 until 7 a.m.

“I wanted us to be the first team in the county to practice,” Bass explained. “So, we started ahead of everybody, and we have to stay ahead of everybody.”

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