Thursday, November 18
Leeman-Turner Arena
07:00 PM

Lehigh University

22
vs
15

No. 6 Michigan

Mountain Hawks too much for Michigan in top ten collision

11/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling

Bethlehem, PA – Jeff Santo registered a pin at 133 and Lehigh won one bout by technical fall and two by major decision as the Mountain Hawks rolled to a 22-15 victory over visiting Michigan in front of 2,014 rowdy fans at Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall on Thursday night.  The victory improves No. 2 Lehigh’s dual meet record to 5-0 on the season.  The sixth-ranked Wolverines fall to 0-1.

 

“I’m very pleased with the way we wrestled tonight,” said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel following the win.  “[Michigan is] a very good team, and we knew we’d have to wrestle well to come out on top.”

 

The match began at 125 with Lehigh’s John Stout taking on 16th-ranked Mark Moos.    Moos built a quick 4-0 lead early, but Stout began to rally.  Behind the thunderous roar of the Leeman-Turner Arena crowd, Stout cut the deficit to one point at 10-9 late in the third thanks, in part, to three takedowns.  Moos earned a late one point escape to hang on for the 11-9 win. 

 

At 133, Lehigh quickly took the lead as Jeff Santo registered a pin over Michigan’s Craig Gillison just 1:03 into the opening period.  Santo ran his dual meet record to 5-0 at 133 with the pin, which came from the bottom position while trailing 6-0.  That stunning victory made the score 6-3 in favor of the Mountain Hawks.

 

Fourth-ranked Cory Cooperman of Lehigh had little trouble disposing of Michigan’s J.R. Muldoon at 141, picking up a win by tech fall at 4:51 (21-5).  That victory gave Lehigh an 11-3 lead heading into the bout at 149.

 

The showdown at 149 pitted Lehigh’s Matt Anderson (No. 19) vs. Michigan freshman Eric Tannenbaum (No. 14).  Tannenbaum got up 6-3, and Anderson’s rally attempt fell short.  The riding time point gave Tannenbaum a 7-3 win, making the team score 11-6 in favor of the Mountain Hawks.

 

In one of the night’s most anticipated bouts, Lehigh junior Derek Zinck (No. 7) locked up with Michigan senior and former NCAA champ Ryan Bertin (No. 3) at 157.  Bertin took an early lead in the bout, and never trailed.  With the point for riding time, Bertin earned a 7-4 win.  The Bertin win trimmed Lehigh’s lead to two at 11-9.

 

At 165, fans inside Leeman-Turner Arena were treated to another top ten showdown as defending national champion Troy Letters (No. 1) of Lehigh battled No. 6 Ryan Churella of Michigan.  Letters registered three first period takedowns to take a 6-2 lead in his 2004-05 home debut.  Three takedowns and nearly two and a half minutes of riding time later, Letters picked up a 13-5 major decision.

 

In a tightly contested battle at 174, Michigan’s Nick Roy (No. 18) hung on for a 10-6 victory over Lehigh’s Travis Frick (No. 6).  The defeat dropped Frick to 4-1 in dual meets on the season, and the Roy victory cut the Wolverines’ deficit to three at 15-12. 

 

At 184, Lehigh’s Matt Cassidy (No. 17) essentially sealed the victory for the Mountain Hawks with a 9-4 decision over Michigan’s Josh Weitzel.  That made the score 18-12 in favor of the Brown & White with two bouts remaining.

 

The match-up at 197 pitted Michigan junior Willie Breyer against No. 1 ranked All-American Jon Trenge of Lehigh.  Trenge – who had four pins in his previous four bouts this season – wowed the crowd with a rousing takedown in the latter portion of the first period.  He quickly came back to the other end of the arena with another big takedown, but was ruled out of bounds.  Although he didn’t record a pin for the first time this season, Trenge still rolled to a 17-5 major decision to give Lehigh an insurmountable 22-12 victory.

 

The final bout of the night was at heavyweight, where fourth-ranked Greg Wagner of Michigan tangled with Lehigh sophomore Paul Weibel.  Wagner accumulated over two minutes of riding time in an 8-3 win. 

 

Lehigh’s victory over the Wolverines was the Mountain Hawks’ second straight triumph over Michigan.  Last year, Lehigh earned an 18-12 triumph in Ann Arbor.

 

The Mountain Hawks return to the mat on Sunday, November 28, as undefeated Lehigh visits Hofstra.  Action gets underway at 5:00 from Hempstead, N.Y.  Audio coverage will air on a taped-delay basis beginning at approximately 7:30 pm on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320, and on Lehigh’s web site at lehighsports.com.

 

No. 2 Lehigh 22 No. 6 Michigan 15

 

Weight

Matchup

Result

Score

125

Mark Moos (UM)

dec.

John Stout (LU)

11-9

133

Jeff Santo (LU)

pin

Craig Gillison (UM)

WBF, 1:03

141

Cory Cooperman (LU)

tech. fall

J.R. Muldoon (UM)

WBTF, 4:51 (21-5)

149

Eric Tannenbaum (UM)

dec.

Matt Anderson (LU)

7-3

157

Ryan Bertin (UM)

dec.

Derek Zinck (LU)

7-4

165

Troy Letters (LU)

maj. dec.

Ryan Churella (UM)

13-5

174

Nick Roy (UM)

dec.

Travis Frick (LU)

10-6

184

Matt Cassidy (LU)

dec.

Josh Weitzel (UM)

9-4

197

Jon Trenge (LU)

maj. dec.

Willie Breyer (UM)

17-5

HWT

Greg Wagner (UM)

dec.

Paul Weibel (LU)

8-3


Attendance – 2,014

Referee – Gary Kessel

 

Photos copyright 2004, Jeff Nolan, Lehigh Athletics

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