Lehigh University
Wrestle-Offs
Wrestle-offs kick off season for Mountain Hawks
11/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
 |
“Tonight’s crowd was great,” said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel. “We were a little sluggish early on, probably because guys were cutting weight. But as the night went on we picked up energy and the guys wrestled with a lot of fight in them.”
The night’s slate of matches began at 125 with Patrick Berger holding off Kevin Vinh 5-4. The next bout featured the first of three major decisions, as redshirt freshman Seth Ciasulli shut out junior Stephen Seemuller, who was subbing for the injured John Stout, 10-0.
Two bouts were contested at 141. In the first bout, junior Jeff Santo held off feisty freshman Nate Spangler 10-3. Then, in an exhibition bout, freshman Matt Croshal used several takedown-near fall combinations to roll up a 14-2 major decision over junior Phil Koehler.
Sophomore Trevor Chinn was impressive at 149, rolling up a 13-5 major decision over Frankie Gayeski. At 157, senior Dave Nakasone provided the first of three pins on the night, scoring several early takedowns on freshman Greg Hilbert before securing the fall at 2:03.
It was a battle of redshirt freshman with contrasting styles at 165, with Mike Galante securing a 9-5 win over Manuel Schubert.
“That one was interesting because of the contrasting styles,” said Strobel. “The bruiser versus the technical wrestler. There was some good fighting.”
After senior David Helfrich defeated Eddie Silverman at 174, fans got their first looks at two members of Lehigh’s highly touted freshman class. The newcomers did not disappoint, as each picked up wins by fall. David Craig built a large lead before pinning Andy Knerr in the second period at 184, while Pat Flynn secured a first period fall over Samir Soriano at 197.
Senior Paul Weibel closed out the evening with a 6-5 win over freshman Justin Allen.
“The freshmen were great tonight, really outstanding. “It was nice to get them into it a little.”
The Mountain Hawks, ranked 21st in the country by InterMat, will open the regular season Friday night with a trip to Rider. The match gets underway at 7:00 pm from Alumni Gym in
In anticipation of the season-opener, fans are invited to meet Lehigh head wrestling coach Greg Strobel and select student-athletes at the first-ever Lehigh wrestling luncheon, set for Thursday, November 9 at Starters Restaurant on Route 378 in Bethlehem. Coach Strobel and members of the team in attendance will field questions from fans and alumni as they prepare to open up the 2006-07 season versus the Broncs of Rider University. The event will begin at 12:00 p.m. and will run until 1:00. Cost of the all-you-can-eat buffet is $11. The event will also be streamed on Lehigh's website at lehighsports.com later that afternoon, for those who cannot make it to Starters.
|
Weight |
Match-up |
Result |
|
Score/Time |
|
125 |
Patrick Berger (Brown) |
dec. |
Kevin Vinh (White) |
5-4 |
|
133 |
Seth Ciasulli (Brown) |
maj. dec. |
Stephen Seemuller (White) |
10-0 |
|
141 |
Jeff Santo (White) |
dec. |
Nate Spangler (Brown) |
10-3 |
|
141 |
Matt Croshal (Brown) |
maj. dec. |
Phil Koehler (White) |
14-2 |
|
149 |
Trevor Chinn (Brown) |
maj. dec. |
Frankie Gayeski (White) |
13-5 |
|
157 |
Dave Nakasone (White) |
WBF |
Greg Hilbert (Brown) |
2:03 |
|
165 |
Mike Galante (Brown) |
dec. |
Manuel Schubert (White) |
9-5 |
|
174 |
Dave Helfrich (White) |
dec. |
Eddie Silverman (Brown) |
10-4 |
|
184 |
David Craig (Brown) |
WBF |
Andy Knerr (White) |
4:26 |
|
197 |
Pat Flynn (White) |
WBF |
Samir Soriano (White) |
1:33 |
|
285 |
Paul Weibel (White) |
dec. |
Justin Allen (Brown) |
6-5 |
Attendance – 1,523
Referee – Tom Corey
Photos © 2006, Specialty Photographic
