Starting a collegiate athletics program from scratch doesn’t happen very often, and it’s a tough task.
That was the job Ryan Ciotoli was tasked with upon his hire in November of 2024:to lead the brand new Ithaca Bomber women’s wrestling team.
The men’s wrestling team has competed at IC since 1930, and has a rich and storied history of consistent success. The men’s team has collected 3 National Championships at the Division III level, 12 individual national championships, 83 All-American selections, and 43 top-25 NCAA Championship finishes among other accolades. The rich history of the men’s team sets a high bar for the women’s team to follow.
This season, Coach Ciotoli is stepping into his first head coaching role at any college or university. However, he does have experience both on the mat and on the sideline throughout his career. Ciotoli wrestled on the South Hill from 1997 to 2002 for five seasons under head coach Marty Nichols, who is currently in his 29th year helming the illustrious men’s squad. Ciotoli did not just compete at Ithaca, he thrived. He won 91 matches, including an undefeated 17-0 record as a junior athlete. Ciotoli was consistently recognized for his exceptional skill; he was selected to three All-American teams and helped Ithaca win the ECWC four separate times. But, Ciotoli’s wrestling journey did not end there. After his time as a student was over, Ciotoli learned how to coach as an assistant under Coach Nichols for six years from 2002 to 2008. During those seasons, Ciotoli coached 10 Bombers who received All-American accolades, just like him.
“I stayed involved with wrestling [after graduating],” said Ciotoli. “Actually, the men’s head coach was my head coach. So he called me and told me that they were starting up a women’s program.”
It’s one thing to establish a new culture at an existing program with its own history, tradition, and roster. It’s another challenge entirely to forge a new culture with a new team. Coach Ciotoli was put on the proverbial back foot from the beginning as he led a completely new group of women into competition.
The first big challenge for Ciotoli was recruiting. By the time he was hired in fall of 2024, he was already behind. The recruiting process for the best female wrestlers in high school was already underway. It was hard enough to recruit student-athletes to central New York for a program without an established track record, let alone as a school coming late to the process. Also, there were no previous matches to show recruits, because there were none.
“Recruiting for that first year, you have nothing to show them,” remarked Ciotoli. “You can’t show them practice. I mean, you can show them the facilities and tell them your vision for the program.”
For the maiden 2025-2026 season, Ciotoli managed to bring eight women into the field, six freshmen and two seniors. But the small team had a lot to learn.
Due to the history of wrestling being dominated by male athletes, many women did not get as much experience in their youth competing as their male counterparts. Sure, they had wrestled for a few years and were often great, but they did not have the backlog of experience that came for men with a system that benefitted them. Therefore, Coach Ciotoli knew that the learning curve would be different for his new team than the men’s team he played for and eventually coached.
“To be completely honest, I didn’t know what to expect,” said Ciotoli. “Are we even going to win a match? But, I think the goals shifted a little bit as we got into the season. Our big goal was to implement our system and work on developing a team mindset.”
The Bombers have won a match — three of them in team play. They defeated Utica twice (25-10, 29-10) and Onondaga once (31-0). Standout first-year wrestler Melina Georgas has been a highlight for Ciotoli’s first team. She was awarded Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Utica University Round Robin in January. The team has had its challenges, as adapting to competition hasn’t been perfect. An example of that is that Ithaca lost all four matches in four separate weight classes in their first foray into the NCAA Region I Women’s Wrestling Championships.
In the establishment of the women’s wrestling program, IC has earned more attention and recruits totaling more than thirty strong for the next school year. Not only are new wrestlers going to impact and shape the fledgling squad, but the six returning freshmen are going to continue to grow, learn, and develop in their sophomore campaigns.
When asked to reflect on his team’s progress this year relative to expectations, the head coach Ryan Ciotoli answered, “We’re doing very well. We win a lot more than we’re losing. I give credit to our wrestlers on the team.”
Credit should be given to the college for starting this program, the coaching staff for getting on board, and the wrestlers for taking a chance on a DIII school by the Finger Lakes in their first year.